Say What Now? Bodycam Shows Arrest of 24-Year-Old Man Who Posed as Ohio High School Teen

The Venezuelan man, who allegedly claimed to be a 16-year-old victim of human trafficking, was placed with a local family and participated in school sports.

A man in Ohio is under arrest, after police say he was posing as a 16-year-old to attend a local high school.

The wild saga began in November 2023, when Anthony Emmanuel Labrador Sierra expressed interest in enrolling at Perrysburg High School, claiming he “had been homeless and was an immigrant from Venezuela.” At the time, he allegedly claimed he had been the victim of human trafficking, said he was 16 and used the name Anthony Labrador.

Per police, he presented a Venezuelan birth certificate with a December 2, 2007 birthdate at the time, and claimed he was living at an address in Toledo. He began attending the school in January 2024, before a local couple who had housed exchange students in the past were contacted by Labrador and agreed to let him stay with them. He began living with them in March 2024, before they later became his legal guardians in November that same year.

In the time since enrolling at the school, he allegedly obtained a driver’s license, Social Security number and temporary protective status from the U.S. Immigration Department. He also started playing sports for the school, playing for both the junior varsity soccer and swim teams.

But then, according to authorities, the “teen” was exposed as being a man in his 20s.

Earlier this month, a 22-year-old woman contacted the guardians and claimed Labrador wasn’t who he appeared. She allegedly claimed he was actually 24 and the father of her child, and sent photos and other documentation to them to prove she wasn’t lying. Per WTOL, the anonymous woman had an Ohio driver’s license with a March 27, 2001 birthdate, as well as a Social Security card in the name of Anthony Emmanuel Labrador Sierra — and photos of her with him and Labrador with a child.

Local police then reportedly reached out to border patrol, who said Labrador’s visa status expired in 2023. When he was confronted with the information on May 15, he allegedly denied the allegations. However, on May 19, he was arrested after a traffic stop — with bodycam footage released showing him in the car with a woman at the time of his arrest.

He was charged with forgery for using fake documents to enroll in the high school. Labrador entered a not guilty plea on Tuesday, was ordered not to have contact with the school or the family who took him in and is behind bars on $50,000 bond.

“This case involves highly unusual and deceptive circumstances that impacted many local, state and federal agencies,” school superintendent Tom Hosler said in the letter.

“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,” the district added, pointing to a law put in place to help displaced youth receive an education.

“Anthony Emmanuel Labrador-Sierra is a 24-year-old illegal alien from Venezuela who has been posing as a teenager and attending Perrysburg High School in Ohio,” Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin added in a statement. “ICE lodged a detainer to ensure that this criminal illegal alien is removed from this community and no longer able to prey on the students of Perrysburg High School. It is disturbing that a grown man would impersonate a teenager and infiltrate the lives of underage girls and boys to fool them into doing God knows what.”

He’ll next appear in court on May 29.

via: TooFab

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