Review backs FCPS handling of student convicted of groping Fairfax High girls
Review backs FCPS handling of student convicted of groping Fairfax High girls
An external investigation and safety review found Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) acted promptly and appropriately regarding a student convicted of groping girls inside Fairfax High School.
FAIRFAX COUNTY, VA. - An external investigation and safety review found Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) acted promptly and appropriately regarding a student convicted of groping girls inside Fairfax High School.
The suspect, 18-year-old Israel Ortiz, was a student at Fairfax High School and is an undocumented immigrant.
What we know:
Ortiz was found guilty of nine counts of assault for groping several female students in the high school's hallways. He remains behind bars following his convictions.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: 18-year-old accused of groping classmates at Fairfax High School found guilty on 9 counts
FCPS posted a message from Superintendent Dr. Michelle Reid, stating that providing a safe, secure and supportive environment for students is the district's highest priority.
In the wake of the sexual assault convictions, FCPS insists its staff responded with urgency, saying the school's administration and staff fully complied with Title IX protocols.
"He should have been caught and charged earlier obviously, and he should not be doing stuff like that," a concerned parent told FOX 5 D.C. "I have a 22-year-old girl, and I would hate for something like that to happen to her."
What we don't know:
The school district did not provide a representative to discuss the investigation and review on camera, nor did they provide a copy of the full report. FOX 5 requested both.
FOX 5 also reached out to Fairfax City Police, who conducted the criminal investigation; they had no comment on the external investigation and safety review.
The other side:
On Thursday, an attorney for one of Ortiz's victims said that the district's review "raises more questions than it answers."
Attorney Demetry Pikrallidas criticized FCPS for not sharing the full report, calling it "a continuing effort to minimize, explain away, or obscure serious failures that occurred before multiple young women were victimized."
A statement from Pikrallidas went on to read:
Residents of Fairfax County invest enormous resources into their public schools and have every right to expect transparency, honesty, and accountability. They are entitled to a complete examination of what occurred, not a narrowly tailored narrative that appears designed to reach a predetermined conclusion.
At present, this report appears incomplete. It reads less like an exhaustive investigation and more like a document crafted to validate decisions already made by Fairfax County Public Schools.
The young women involved deserve better.
Their families deserve better.
The citizens of Fairfax County deserve better.
The Source: Information from FOX 5 D.C. reporting and a statement from Demetry Pikrallidas, attorney for one of the victims.