Israel Flores Ortiz, 18, an undocumented immigrant, was sentenced to 360 days in prison on Tuesday after being found guilty of groping several female classmates in the hallways of Fairfax High School earlier this year. He has 135 days left in prison after serving time and being sentenced for a misdemeanor, Fox News reported.
Judge Melinda Vanlowe gave the sentence and said it was a “very difficult case.” She also said the actions were “targeted” and part of a “pattern” of “deplorable” behavior.
Flores Ortiz was charged as an adult, but he was tried in juvenile court because most of the victims were children. He was found guilty in nine cases, not guilty in three, and one charge was dropped. The Fairfax Police Department said that at first, he was accused of attacking 13 female classmates.
After years of former President Joe Biden’s open-borders policy, the case made parents even more worried about their children’s safety.
Flores Ortiz is from El Salvador and is in the country illegally. Reports say he got here in 2024.
At the sentencing, the defense lawyers said that the case had become political and used President Donald Trump as an example of how the public was paying too much attention to Flores Ortiz.
“When people touch people [in an] unwanted way, sometimes we arrest them,” defense counsel said, gesturing toward Flores Ortiz, “and sometimes we elect them president of the United States.”
The defense asked the court to impose just nine days of incarceration, arguing Flores Ortiz’s age should weigh heavily in sentencing. Counsel said his “brain is physically not as developed” as that of a 25-year-old and argued his actions were not driven by sexual gratification.
Instead, the defense characterized the assaults as immature behavior, telling the court Flores Ortiz acted “for fun” and that “it was like a joke or prank.”
“Only a teenager would think like that,” counsel said.
After the hearing, an attorney representing one of the teenage victims rejected the political framing.
“This should not be politicized,” the attorney said.
The defense said the defendant “is sorry” for his actions and “he agrees it was deplorable he agrees it was a pattern.”
Prosecutors say the case began with a series of incidents in crowded school hallways where Flores Ortiz groped female students. The claims led to more attention being paid to school supervision and hallway safety in Fairfax County.
“Virginia’s experiment with radical gender ideology, race-based admissions systems, far-Left indoctrination, and unlawful discrimination has inflicted immeasurable harm on our students,” the Education Department wrote in a post on X, announcing a Title IX investigation. “It must stop.”
Earlier this month, the GOP-controlled House passed a measure that would require the federal government to deport any illegal immigrant who assaults a police officer over the objections of a majority of Democrats.
The legislation passed with a vote of 265 to 148, with 54 Democrats siding with the GOP. The Detain and Deport Illegal Aliens Who Assault Cops Act is the name of the legislation, which Rep. Jeff Van Drew, R-N.J., is leading.
The bill mandates that federal authorities hold illegal immigrants in custody until deportation. It also establishes a new category of migrant inadmissibility, specifically targeting illegal immigrants accused of assaulting police, according to Van Drew.
After the bill passed, Rep. Tom Emmer, the House Majority Whip and No. 3 Republican, said, “House Democrats just voted to protect violent, illegal immigrants over our brave law enforcement officers. Once again, the Democrat Party proves they are the most anti-law enforcement party in history.”
President Donald Trump has not weighed in on the House bill yet, but securing the border and deporting violent criminal illegal immigrants has been a top priority for the White House.