28 Year Old Arrested for Posing as High School Student

In a surprising turn of events, a 28-year-old woman and her mother have been arrested in Louisiana for allegedly posing as a high school student in order to learn English. Martha Jessenia Gutierrez Serrano and her mother, Marta Elizabeth Serrano Alvarado, were apprehended by authorities on Tuesday and are now facing charges of injuring public records, according to the St. Charles Parish Sheriff’s Office.

The incident unfolded when Serrano Alvarado used counterfeit documents, including a fake passport and birth certificate from Honduras, to register her daughter at Hahnville High School for the 2022-2023 school year. The St. Charles Parish School System launched an internal investigation after receiving a tip suggesting that a 17-year-old student might actually be in her mid-20s, just four days after the school year concluded on May 25.

During a news conference, Sheriff Greg Champagne revealed that Gutierrez Serrano admitted to enrolling in the school to improve her English language skills. He emphasized that there were alternative routes available, such as ESL or GED programs, which should have been pursued instead of resorting to falsifying records. Champagne clarified that while their actions were misguided and involved the fabrication of government documents, there appeared to be no malicious intent behind their actions.

No evidence of additional criminal activity or inappropriate conduct has been found thus far regarding either woman, and Gutierrez Serrano did not engage in extracurricular activities or face disciplinary issues while attending school.

The St. Charles Parish School System expressed its commitment to enhancing enrollment document authentication processes for current and future students. They also mentioned that policy and procedures would be modified as necessary in light of this incident, which is currently under investigation by the Sheriff’s Office.

This occurrence echoes a similar incident earlier this year, where a 29-year-old woman faced charges for using false documents to enroll in a high school in New Jersey. In that case, the defendant was permitted to enter a pretrial intervention program.

As the legal proceedings unfold, it remains to be seen if either woman has legal representation available to provide comment on the arrests. The authorities are determined to ensure the integrity of the education system and enforce appropriate measures to prevent such incidents from occurring in the future.