SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. – A 15-year-old already accused of plotting to stab a classmate at Lake Brantley High School is now facing a new set of serious charges. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement says Isabelle Valdez was arrested on 10 counts of possession of child sex abuse material. She remains in the Seminole County Jail.
How the new investigation started
FDLE agents opened the investigation in February after Altamonte Springs Police flagged a digital file found on Valdez’s cell phone showing the sexual abuse of children. Agents say they went on to find several video files depicting child sexual abuse — including videos showing children as young as 3 years old.
The alleged school stabbing plot
The new charges pile onto an already serious case.
Investigators say Valdez and co-defendant Lois Lippert planned to stab a boy in a bathroom at Lake Brantley High School. Prosecutors say Valdez told investigators she had been planning the attack for months and was obsessed with deceased Sandy Hook shooter Adam Lanza. She allegedly planned to target a student she said resembled him.
The plot was only stopped on the day of the alleged attack after an anonymous tip reached authorities.
Court documents say Lippert helped Valdez sharpen the knife in a school bathroom and tested its sharpness against her own skin and Valdez’s shirt.
From laughing on camera to ‘I’m not the same girl’
Minutes after their arrest, patrol car video captured both girls laughing together.
Months later, Valdez’s tone has changed — at least on paper.
In a letter sent to the judge and filed this week with the Seminole County Clerk of Court, she writes: “I’m very remorseful for my actions.”
She also tells the judge that when she was first detained, she started acting “recklessly and edgy” and made “everything sound worse than it was” because she wanted help.
The letter closes with a direct appeal for sympathy: “I’ve been thinking about my life and my choices. I’m not the same girl.”