Empty highschool hall with lockers lining the wallsTony Anderson by way of Getty Photographs
A 28-year-old lady has been accused of pretending to be a Louisiana highschool pupil for a 12 months.
Each the girl and her mom had been charged on Tuesday with falsifying authorities paperwork.
The native sheriff mentioned the girl was attending faculty as a result of she needed to be taught English.
A 28-year-old lady in Louisiana has been arrested and accused of posing as a 17-year-old on the Hahnville Excessive Faculty — and getting away with it for a complete 12 months.
In a press release launched on Tuesday, the St. Charles Parish Sheriff’s Workplace mentioned they’d arrested and charged the accused, Martha Jessenia Gutierrez-Serrano, and her 46-year-old mom, Marta Elizeth Serrano-Alvarado.
The sheriff’s workplace accused Serrano-Alvarado of utilizing a “fraudulent passport and start certificates” to enroll her in the highschool. Each girls had been additionally accused of falsifying public data.
In a press convention held on Wednesday, Sheriff Greg Champagne informed the media that Gutierrez-Serrano had attended Hahnville Excessive Faculty “for a 12 months”.
“Far as we all know, she did nothing inappropriate in any respect, merely attended faculty,” mentioned Champagne. “The knowledge we acquired, concerning the purpose for her doing this was easy. She needed to be taught English, she needed to change into proficient in English.”
Ken Oertling, the St. Charles Parish superintendent, mentioned on the press convention that the authorities plans to beef up checks through the enrollment course of.
“Because of this discovery, we’re conducting an audit of enrollment paperwork for college students at the moment enrolled in St. Charles Parish Public Colleges. We’re reviewing pupil enrolment coverage and procedures, and we’ll make enhancements based mostly on that evaluate,” mentioned Oertling.
Gutierrez-Serrano managed to maintain up the ruse for a 12 months — far longer than a 29-year-old lady, who was arrested in January and accused of pretending to be a pupil at a New Jersey highschool for 4 days.
If discovered responsible of the cost of falsifying public data, Gutierrez-Serrano and her mom may face a jail time period of as much as 5 years, or a $5,000 advantageous.
A consultant for the St. Charles Parish Sheriff’s Workplace didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark from Insider despatched exterior common enterprise hours.
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