Nine girls were assaulted in their own school hallways. Parents say the school system downplayed it, FCPS won’t release its own review, and Fairfax’s top prosecutor is under federal investigation.

On September 8, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement removed Israel Flores-Ortiz, 19, from the United States and sent him back to El Salvador. ICE says he entered the country illegally in 2024 and was released into the U.S. under the Biden administration. (WJLA 7News)

Flores-Ortiz was a student at Fairfax High School. He was convicted of assaulting nine girls there. (FFXnow)

The Department of Homeland Security put it plainly: DHS “will never stop fighting to remove sickos like Flores-Ortiz.” (Fox News) Fairfax families should thank the men and women of DHS and ICE for finishing the job.

What He Did

Parents told 7News that an adult stranger came up behind their daughters in the hallways between classes and grabbed them between the legs. They said it had been going on for months. Some of the girls were as young as 13. (WJLA 7News)

He was charged with 13 counts of misdemeanor assault and battery and found guilty of nine. A Fairfax County juvenile court judge sentenced him on April 21. (FFXnow) He faced up to nine years behind bars. He got six months. (WJLA 7News)

What Parents Say FCPS Did

The mothers of the victims have not been shy about how Fairfax County Public Schools handled this. One described FCPS as having “attempted to sweep it under the rug.” (7News via ABC News 4)

According to those parents, the principal’s email to families went out more than two weeks after the incidents were reported, and it described what happened as buttocks touching. 7News also reported that Superintendent Michelle Reid had sent parent alerts when FCPS opened outside investigations into other controversies, but not in this case. (7News via ABC News 4)

One mother of three FCPS students said officials waited two weeks to tell parents and moved only after parents pushed. (Fox News) An attorney for one victim asked the question every parent should be asking: should the school have known sooner, and did it? (DC News Now)

To be fair, some parents said the school moved quickly once administrators became aware. (DC News Now) That makes the next part even harder to understand.

The Report You Paid For and Can’t Read

Under pressure, FCPS hired the law firm McGuireWoods to review how staff handled the complaints. (FFXnow) In June, Reid announced that the review found FCPS “acted promptly and appropriately.”

When 7News asked FCPS to release the full report, since taxpayers paid for it, FCPS said no. (WJLA 7News)

If FCPS did everything right, why hide the report? Reid is not elected. She works for the 12-member School Board, which sets FCPS policy and can demand accountability from the superintendent it hired.

The Prosecutor Under Federal Investigation

Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano’s office did win convictions in this case. But his broader record is why so many Fairfax families don’t trust his office with cases like this one.

A written policy in Descano’s office tells prosecutors they “shall consider immigration consequences where possible” when negotiating plea deals. (WTOP) When he first ran for office, Descano told the ACLU his office “will not cooperate with ICE.” (WJLA 7News)

The results have drawn national attention:

• The U.S. Justice Department opened an investigation into how Descano’s office handles cases involving immigrants. (WTOP)
• 7News reported that his office dropped nearly every charge against Abdul Jalloh, an illegal immigrant who was later accused of murdering Stephanie Minter, a single mother, at a bus stop in February 2026. (WJLA 7News)
• The House Judiciary Committee says Descano has resisted its requests for records. His lawyers now say the committee plans to subpoena him. (WTOP)

Descano denies giving anyone preferential treatment. His lawyers say the policy never gives a non-citizen a better deal than a citizen would get. (WTOP) Common-sense Virginians can read the policy for themselves and decide whether it treats everyone the same.

A Rare Exception From the Sheriff

This time, Fairfax County Sheriff Stacey Kincaid’s office released Flores-Ortiz directly into ICE custody on August 31, three days before his scheduled release. The Fairfax Times called it a rare instance of cooperation. Kincaid has repeatedly said she requires a judicial warrant to honor ICE detainers. (Fairfax Times)

That’s the right call, and it shouldn’t be rare. Sean Kennedy of Virginians for Safe Communities says Kincaid refused 615 ICE detainer requests over 16 months and turned over only 11 people. (Fox News) Kincaid ended the Sheriff’s Office’s agreement with ICE back in 2018. (House Judiciary Committee) Kennedy suggested the outcome in this case may have had more to do with public scrutiny and outraged parents than with any change in policy. (7News via The National Desk)

It shouldn’t take a national news story and a room full of angry parents for Fairfax to cooperate with federal law enforcement on a man convicted of assaulting nine schoolgirls.

What You Need To Know:

• ICE did its job. A man convicted of assaulting nine Fairfax High girls is back in El Salvador. Thank you, DHS and ICE.
• Parents say FCPS minimized it. They describe late notice and a watered-down description of what happened to their daughters.
• FCPS won’t show its work. Superintendent Michelle Reid, who is hired by and answers to the School Board, won’t release the full taxpayer-funded review. The School Board, led by Chair Robyn Lady (Dranesville) and Vice Chair Kyle McDaniel (At-Large), oversees her. (FCPS)
• Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano (D) runs an office whose written policy tells prosecutors to weigh immigration consequences. The Justice Department and the House Judiciary Committee are both investigating.
• Sheriff Stacey Kincaid (D) cooperated with ICE this time, but her office has a long record of refusing ICE detainers.
• This is what one-party rule produces. Democrats run Fairfax County, and in Richmond they hold every statewide office under Gov. Abigail Spanberger and Attorney General Jay Jones. Regular families are left demanding answers from officials who answer to their loudest activists.
• Washington matters too. Immigration enforcement is federal. Sen. Mark Warner, Rep. Don Beyer (VA-8), Rep. Suhas Subramanyam (VA-10), and Rep. James Walkinshaw (VA-11) are all on the ballot this November. Walkinshaw votes with House Democrats nearly 100% of the time.
• You can hold them accountable. The Commonwealth’s Attorney, the Sheriff, and all 12 School Board seats are on the ballot in November 2027.

What You Can Do

Early voting in Virginia begins this Friday, September 18, 2026. (Fairfax County Office of Elections) Vote for candidates who will back the officers enforcing our immigration laws, and bring a neighbor with you.

Then keep going. Ask your School Board member why the McGuireWoods report is still secret. Share this article with every parent in your neighborhood. And remember these names in 2027, when Fairfax voters decide who prosecutes crimes, who runs the jail, and who runs our schools.

Normal parents should never have to fight this hard to learn what happened to their daughters at school.

Sources: WJLA 7News (Sept. 9) · FFXnow · Fox News (Sept.) · Fox News (March) · 7News via ABC News 4 · DC News Now · WJLA 7News (June) · WTOP (May, hearing) · WTOP (May, DOJ) · WTOP (Sept., subpoena) · WJLA 7News (May) · WJLA 7News (Aug.) · Fairfax Times · House Judiciary Committee · The National Desk · FCPS · Fairfax County Office of Elections