24-year-old pretending to be teen attended Ohio school since 2024, officials say
.png "School officials said a 24-year-old man pretended to be a teen and enrolled in high school.")
A 24-year-old man was arrested in Ohio after school officials said he pretended to be a teen and enrolled in high school for more than a year.
Anthony E. Labrador Sierra is charged with felony forgery, according to court records. Attorney information was not immediately available.
On Jan. 11, 2024, Labrador enrolled into Perrysburg High School under the name and age of a 16-year-old, according to a May 20 news release from Perrysburg Schools.
But, Labrador was not 16 years old. School officials now say they have learned he is 24 years old and provided false information and documents to enroll in school.
Labrador had been attending school until May 14 of this year, superintendent Thomas L. Hosler said in the release.
He also played on the junior varsity soccer team and swim team, according to school officials. The district reported this to the Ohio High School Athletic Association.
On May 14, the guardians who took Labrador in contacted the school district to notify them that they had received information that Labrador was not a minor, the release said.
The next day, school administrators met with Labrador and confronted him about the allegations. Labrador denied they were true and said the birth certificate he used during enrollment was correct, Hosler said.
When Labrador enrolled, he provided multiple documents supporting his identity, according to Hosler. This included a driver’s license, Social Security number, a federal Temporary Protected Status from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and a completed application for a visa.
He also showed that the Wood County Juvenile Court gave a Perrysburg family guardianship over him, according to Hosler.
Labrador had been enrolled “in accordance with federal and state requirements for enrolling students experiencing homelessness or without a legal guardian,” the release said.
After school staff spoke to Labrador, he was kept off school property while officials investigated.
“Perrysburg Schools administrators began to investigate this claim further based on the information provided by the guardians and through their investigation found social media posts by others, including those claiming to be Labrador’s family,” Hosler said in the release.
The Perrysburg Police Division began an investigation and arrested Labrador on May 19.
“This case involves highly unusual and deceptive circumstances that impacted many local, state and federal agencies. The school district has reviewed its actions regarding enrollment and is confident proper legal channels were followed to provide support for an individual presenting themselves as an unaccompanied minor as spelled out in the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act,” Hosler said.
