Illegal immigrant groping case latest allegation of misconduct in Northern Virginia school system
Virginia’s largest public school district is facing renewed scrutiny after parents accused Fairfax County Public Schools officials this week of delaying notification that an adult student identified as an illegal immigrant allegedly groped multiple female classmates.
News broke last week that Israel Flores Ortiz, 19, a junior at Fairfax High School, was charged with nine counts of assault and battery after multiple female students accused him of inappropriately touching them while they were walking in school hallways between classes.
Furious parents who spoke with Fox News Digital and local news outlet WJLA this week claim school officials waited two weeks to inform parents and the move only came after parental pressure. They also claim district officials sanitized the nature of the groping.
The district said in a statement, "While Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) is unable to comment on specifics due to federal and state privacy laws, we prioritize student and staff safety and fully investigate any time someone reports an incident or says they do not feel safe at school. We are grateful to our law enforcement partners, who continue to work swiftly and thoroughly when there are safety concerns in our schools. The safety of all FCPS students and staff remains a top priority."
The Fairfax High allegations follow several other criminal cases involving alleged sexual misconduct tied to FCPS schools in recent years.
In September 2025, Thomas Edison High School instructional assistant Derrick Burroughs was arrested after Fairfax County police alleged he sexually assaulted two students on separate occasions. He was charged with two counts of aggravated sexual battery and indecent liberties by a custodian and put on administrative leave, according to police.
The incident followed two other teachers in the district being arrested on sex crime charges in February 2025.
Fairview Elementary School teacher John Barger was arrested and charged with two counts of aggravated sexual battery after detectives alleged he sexually assaulted two students on separate occasions. Later court reporting identified the students as ages 10 and 11.
WJLA reported that parents questioned why they were not notified until weeks after the allegations surfaced.
"We expect that anyone who works with children is focused on their safety and well-being," an FCPS spokesperson told WJLA 7News at the time. "When that trust is broken, it deeply affects us all. As soon as we were made aware of these allegations, the teacher was removed from our schools and has not returned."
Also in February 2025, Falls Church High School teacher Richard Joseph Berkowitz was arrested in a Fairfax County child exploitation sting and charged with four counts of solicitation of a minor and two counts of production of child sexual abuse material, police said. Public reporting did not identify FCPS students as alleged victims in that case. He was suspended from teaching upon the arrest, according to authorities.
In 2024, several other cases drew public attention.
In September 2024, police charged former after-school contractor Arturo Elmore-Adon with seven counts of unlawful filming after investigators said they found videos he allegedly took of four girls, all FCPS elementary school students.
At Langley High School, football coach and teacher David Clay Murray was arrested in August 2024 and charged with five counts of sexual solicitation of a minor, WJLA reported, after investigators said he solicited sex acts while communicating with an undercover detective posing as a 15-year-old girl.
Then in October 2024, Langley instructional assistant David Scalea was arrested after police said a student reported seeing him masturbating in a classroom. He was charged with obscene sexual display and contributing to the delinquency of a minor, according to Fox5DC.
In October 2023, Groveton Elementary School teacher James William Nugent II was charged with taking indecent liberties with a child and 13 counts of distributing child pornography after police said he exposed himself to a juvenile and investigators found child sexual abuse material during a search of his home. Police said they believed he may have exposed himself to other children in the area as well.
In April 2023, James Madison High School learning disabilities teacher Allieh Kheradmand was charged with four counts of indecent liberties by a custodian after a student disclosed an inappropriate sexual relationship with her, according to the FCPD.
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FCPS did not immediately respond Wednesday to a request for comment about district-wide student-safety policies or the timeline for notifying families in the new Fairfax High case.
The Northern Virginia school system has been criticized by conservative education activists for prioritizing "far-left" policies over student safety concerns because of its gender policies and policies protecting immigrant students from ICE.
Fairfax is one of five Northern Virginia school systems whose transgender bathroom policies triggered a threat by the Trump administration to pull federal funding, after the administration argued they were violating Title IX.
Fox News' Taylor Penley contributed to this report.