In Fairfax County, Virginia, a growing tide of parental concern has emerged following the arrest of a 19-year-old undocumented individual accused of inappropriate conduct involving students at a local high school. The incident has sparked a wave of fear and frustration among parents who assumed their children were safe in the school environment.

“As a parent, it’s horrifying,” expressed Stacy Langton. “When I send my daughters to school, I trust they are secure within the school’s care. This situation has shattered that trust, and I can’t imagine any parent not feeling completely distraught at the thought of their daughters possibly being assaulted between classes.”

Israel Flores Ortiz, originating from El Salvador and having entered the U.S. in 2024, now faces nine counts of assault and battery. The allegations claim that he targeted students in the school corridors during class transitions. The charges have intensified the community’s call for better safety measures within the educational system.

A mugshot released by the Fairfax County Sheriff’s Office shows Israel Flores Ortiz, accused of groping nine female students at Fairfax County High School, following his arrest in March 2026.

Langton, a mother of two daughters attending the high school, described her reaction upon learning about the allegations. “I first asked my senior if she knew anything about this, and she confirmed, saying, ‘Yes, mom, everyone’s talking about it.’ That was deeply concerning,” she recounted.

She continued, “I then spoke to my ninth grader, asking if they had been affected by this individual. Thankfully, they hadn’t been touched, but both daughters were aware of the situation and knew friends among the 12 victims.”

Langton, a well-known activist in the area who protested pornographic books in county schools in 2021 in what became a cultural flashpoint that helped boost former Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin to electoral victory, said that parents, including those she knows to be liberal, are “very, very angry” about the situation.

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, along with other federal law enforcement agencies, attend a pre-enforcement meeting in Chicago, Illinois, US, on Sunday, Jan. 26, 2025. (Christopher Dilts/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“The reaction from other parents is, you know, anger,” she said. “My phone blew up last Saturday. As soon as the story broke, I started getting inundated with text messages going, ‘Oh my goodness, did you know about this? Isn’t this where your daughters go to school?’”

She also blames a Virginia policy that allows “English Learners” to remain in public schools up to age 22.

“The biggest problem with this situation — it isn’t political, OK?” Langton said. “This is a public safety issue. This is a problem for every single parent in the school whether you’re a Democrat, whether you are an Independent or whether you are a Republican. This is a public safety issue and every single parent’s daughters are at risk because of this policy.“

A Supreme Court case called Plyler v. Doe, decided in 1982, paved the way for illegal aliens to attend public schools, establishing that prohibiting the practice violates the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. The amendment says that no state shall “deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”

A Fairfax County school bus sits in a depot in Lorton, Virginia, July 22, 2020. (REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque)

Despite the allegations against Flores Ortiz, Langton praised the school for its handling of alleged crimes. She noted that once the victims reported what had happened, the school resource officer began an immediate investigation, eventually leading to the charges.

Fairfax County Public Schools did not return a Monday request for comment, but did address the situation last week.

“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 we fully investigate any time someone shares that an incident has occurred at school, or that they do not feel safe at school,” the district said in a statement. “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.”