Texas band teacher David Ortiz drove 1,500 miles to Virginia to ‘have sex with a 14-year-old’ but was met by cops instead

A Texas high school teacher was caught driving to Virginia and trying to meet a 14-year-old girl after being followed by officers posing as a minor.

David Ortiz, 32, was arrested Friday by undercover detectives from the Fairfax County Child Exploitation Unit after traveling more than 1,500 miles across the country.

The band teacher was nabbed as part of a major crackdown on child predators by the unit, which has led to 10 other arrests since December 18.

The unit said the Lyndon B Johnson High School teacher began talking online to someone he thought was a teenage girl in December 2023 and arrived in Virginia to find detectives waiting for him.

Ortiz now faces charges including solicitation of a minor, attempted indecency against a minor and production of child abuse material.

The band teacher (pictured teaching students) is employed by the United Independent School District, which says it has been in contact with authorities in Texas about the possibility of other victims.

Ortiz is employed by the United Independent School District in Laredo, which said it has been in contact with authorities in Texas about the possibility of other victims.

The teacher’s educator profile with his high school was still active at the time of writing, showing that he was a 9th grade teacher. The school was not immediately available for comment.

Police believe he was talking to a child online and say he began having “sexually related chats” with a Child Exploitation Unit detective last month.

“He thought he was talking to a 14-year-old girl,” said Second Lt. Chris Arenas of the undercover unit.

On Jan. 10, Ortiz said he planned to drive across the country to meet the teen, and officers waited for him for two days before he showed up.

He is being held without bond at the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center.

Following the successful sting operation, a spokesperson for the unit said the teacher’s alleged illegal activities should serve as a warning.

“Parents are urged to closely monitor their children’s online activities and use available security settings to prevent the use of inappropriate sites or platforms,” they said.

‘Children should be encouraged to report any person who engages in inappropriate conversations or tries to coerce them into showing sexually explicit images of themselves.’

Ortiz’s arrest became the eleventh in a sweeping crackdown on online child sex trafficking that the unit has been carrying out since December 18, reports FFXNow.

Police believe he was talking to a child online and say Ortiz began having “sexually related chats” with a Child Exploitation Unit detective last month and was caught telling the detective about his plans to get through the to drive country.

The teacher’s educator profile at his high school was still active at the time of writing this article, showing that he was a 9th grade teacher

The arrest was part of a sweeping crackdown on alleged child predators in Fairfax County, Virginia, which also saw 10 others arrested last month.

The twelve men arrested before Ortiz were collectively charged with 25 crimes, and were ultimately duped by the officers who posed as young girls and boys online.

When the results of the operation were announced on Dec. 28, Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis said it was a bittersweet moment.

“I regret to report the success of the operation, but I am satisfied that there are 10 predators in prison this holiday season,” he said after the arrests.

“One of the most important things society can do, schools can do and public safety can do is protect our innocent children from predatory adults who prey on vulnerabilities.”

He continued, “We hoped that we would not find any predators deliberately interacting with our undercovers posing as children.

“We hoped no one would take it and communicate with our undercover officers, which they did.

“The problem with these crimes is that you charge them and we never know the true impact until you get the predators off the streets because they end up offending again. That’s my experience.’