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A Fairfax High School student was sentenced Tuesday to more than four months in jail after being found guilty of assaulting nine girls in the school’s hallways.

Israel Christopher Flores Ortiz, an 18-year-old junior, received a 180-day sentence for each of the nine misdemeanor assault and battery counts. Fairfax County Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court Judge Melinda VanLowe suspended 140 days on each count, provided he follows probation requirements, maintains good behavior in custody and commits no additional crimes for two years.

Flores Ortiz has been held at the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center since his March 7 arrest. With Virginia’s good-behavior credit for misdemeanor sentences, he will likely serve approximately 140 days in total, according to the Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office.

VanLowe said people have a right to feel safe and respected in their communities and told Flores Ortiz that his conduct violated those principles.

“The victims were not having fun when you were grabbing them,” the judge said.

The sentence also requires Flores Ortiz to complete a psychosexual evaluation and avoid contact with all 13 students involved in the case.

Fairfax City police arrested him after investigating assaults reported to have occurred between Feb. 25 and March 4. Fairfax High officials notified police of the allegations on March 5, and additional students subsequently came forward.

Flores Ortiz was ultimately charged with 13 misdemeanor counts of assault and battery. VanLowe found him guilty of nine counts on April 9, acquitted him on three and dismissed one charge.

Victims Push Back Against Political Focus

The case attracted national political attention, largely because Flores Ortiz was reported to be an undocumented immigrant.

In March, the Department of Homeland Security criticized Fairfax County officials and urged them not to release Flores Ortiz. The U.S. Department of Education began an investigation March 30 into whether Fairfax County Public Schools’ response to the assault reports violated federal protections against sex discrimination in public education.

Republicans also called Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano and Sheriff Stacey Kincaid to appear at a May 14 House Judiciary subcommittee hearing about county policies that restrict cooperation with federal immigration authorities.

During sentencing, Deputy Commonwealth’s Attorney Jenna Sands read part of a victim’s letter arguing that the case had been turned into something it was not because of the political climate.

The student wrote that the national attention had worsened her experience and that she wanted to return to being a normal child. She emphasized that the case was not about immigration, but about students feeling unsafe at school.

Demetrios Pikrallidas, an attorney representing one of the victims, similarly said politics should play no role in the case. He stressed that the consequences would continue for his client because she was touched in a place where she should have been safe.

Pikrallidas said he hoped the sentence would deliver a clear message that inappropriate touching is unacceptable in any setting.

Defense Sought a Lighter Sentence

Assistant public defender Jamie Hospers requested nine more days in jail, followed by probation and a mental health evaluation. He cited Flores Ortiz’s age, lack of a criminal record, decision to surrender to police and confession.

Hospers said Flores Ortiz had described the behavior to police as something done for fun or as a prank, rather than for sexual gratification. While characterizing much of the conduct as grabbing girls’ buttocks, he acknowledged that two students testified about more invasive touching.

The defense attorney accused the federal government of using the case for political purposes. He also said such conduct was unacceptable regardless of the accused person’s identity.

Before receiving his sentence, Flores Ortiz briefly apologized to the girls, their families and his parents. Hospers told the court that his client understood students deserve to feel secure at school.

VanLowe rejected the suggestion that Flores Ortiz could have continued viewing his conduct as a harmless prank. She noted that one victim said she confronted him angrily on March 4, making clear that his actions had hurt her, yet he repeated the behavior two days later.

Letters from the victims described how they changed their routines and behavior after the assaults. VanLowe said those accounts demonstrated the lasting effects of Flores Ortiz’s actions.

After the hearing, Descano said prosecutors were satisfied with the result and emphasized that a person’s immigration status does not affect whether the office pursues accountability for crimes committed in Fairfax County.

The defense has 10 days to decide whether to appeal to Fairfax County Circuit Court, where the case would effectively receive a new trial. Sands asked that Flores Ortiz remain jailed while any appeal proceeds.

Descano and Pikrallidas said they were prepared to continue supporting the victims if an appeal is filed. Pikrallidas said the student he represents intends to see the case through.