Federal officials said an illegal immigrant convicted of sexually assaulting several girls at a Fairfax County high school has been handed over to immigration authorities, signaling a rare break from the county’s long-standing “sanctuary” policies that have helped migrant offenders skirt deportation.
The Department of Homeland Security said agents arrested Israel Christopher Flores-Ortiz, 19, following his release Monday from Fairfax County’s jail.
The Fairfax County Sheriff’s Office, which has been reluctant to cooperate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for nearly a decade, confirmed that Flores-Ortiz was transferred into ICE custody.
The Salvadoran national was locked up in Fairfax County after being sentenced for at least nine sexual assaults at Fairfax High School.
Prosecutors said Flores-Ortiz would come up behind the victims in crowded hallways and grab them between the legs.
The migrant was accused of groping as many as 13 girls, with some of the victims as young as 13 years old.
Police arrested him in March, and he faced up to nine years in prison on several charges of assault and battery.
But he was sentenced to only a year behind bars for his crimes during an April court hearing. His scheduled release date was moved up to Thursday due to good behavior and earning credit for time served.
Flores-Ortiz illegally entered the U.S. in 2024, the DHS said. An immigration judge ordered his removal Aug. 10.
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