Lake Brantley student accused in school murder plot faces new child sexual abuse material charges
Bond denied for teen girls accused of plotting to kill classmate
Two students at Lake Brantley High School will remain in custody after a judge denied them bond during a court hearing in Seminole County, Florida. Prosecutors say the girls, ages 15 and 14, are accused of plotting to kill a fellow student at the school.
ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla. - Warning: Information in this story may consist of graphic details.
A Lake Brantley High School student previously accused of plotting to kill a classmate is now facing additional charges after investigators allegedly found child sexual abuse material on her cellphone.
Isabelle Valdez, 15, of Altamonte Springs, was charged with 10 counts of possession of child sexual abuse material following an investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement's Cybercrime Task Force.
Sexual abuse allegations
What's New:
Valdez was already in custody when the FDLE presented the arrest affidavit for the new charges, authorities said.
According to FDLE, the investigation began in February after detectives with the Altamonte Springs Police Department reported discovering a video file on Valdez's cellphone depicting the sexual abuse of children.
Agents obtained a search warrant for the device and conducted a forensic examination, allegedly uncovering several videos depicting the sexual abuse of children, including some involving children as young as three years old.
Valdez remains in custody at the Seminole County Jail and authorities said the investigation remains active.
The backstory:
The new charges come months after Valdez and another Lake Brantley High School student, 14-year-old Lois Lippert, were arrested in January on allegations that they planned to kill a male classmate.
CLICK TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX LOCAL APP
Investigators alleged the girls targeted the student because they believed he resembled the gunman responsible for the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre and thought killing him would somehow bring the shooter back to life. Authorities said the girls brought a knife to school as part of the alleged attack that was planned to occur on Jan. 23, 2026.
In a conversation with the assistant principal, Valdez said she planned to hurt another student using the knife, gloves, trash bags and wipes in her backpack, a police report said. The backpack – which had all the items Valdez described – was taken to the principal's office, the report said. According to the report, Valdez was hearing voices telling her to harm another person and had come up with the idea for the attack three months before.
Prosecutors said 14-year-old Lois Lippert )(right) and 15-year-old Isabelle Valdez (left) were planning to kill another student at Lake Brantley High School.
In a three-page handwritten letter to a judge filed after her arrest, Valdez apologized for her actions and asked to be released to her parents. She described struggling with depression and claimed she had been groomed and sexually assaulted by people she met through an online crime-related group.
"The internet made me a horrible, horrible person," Valdez wrote in the letter.
SIGN-UP FOR FOX 35'S BREAKING NEWS, DAILY NEWS NEWSLETTERS
Valdez also told the judge she regretted her actions and was seeking help, writing that she was "not the same girl" she had been months earlier. She claimed she acted recklessly, in part because she wanted to appear mentally unstable in hopes of being sent away for treatment.
Video recorded after the January arrests showed Valdez and Lippert joking in the back of a patrol car about their mug shots and the arrest process.
What's next:
Valdez faces 10 counts of possession of child sexual abuse material. Both teens continue to face criminal charges related to the alleged murder plot. The case is being prosecuted by the State Attorney's Office, 18th Judicial Circuit.
The Source: Information in this story was gathered from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the Altamonte Springs Police Department. The State Attorney's Office also released images of the letters and drawings to FOX 35 via a public records request. Additional information is from the arrest affidavit, court hearings, online court records, and jail records.