Police: 29-year-old posed as teen to enroll in high school

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. (AP) — A 29-year-old woman used false documents to enroll as a New Jersey high school student and attended some classes over a four-day period before her scheme was discovered last week, authorities said.

It’s not yet known what the woman’s intentions were, officials said. She reportedly got the phone numbers of students who helped her find her way through New Brunswick High School and continued to text some of them days after her ruse was discovered.

The woman has been barred from entering school grounds in the district, and officials advised students to not have any contact with her.

The woman provided district officials with a false birth certificate, officials said.

Schools in the state are required to immediately enroll unaccompanied children, even in the absence of records normally required for that purpose. Proof of guardianship is also not needed to immediately enroll an unaccompanied youth. Once enrolled, students have 30 days to provide additional proof of identity.

The woman was charged Tuesday with providing a false document. It wasn’t clear what sentence she might face if convicted.

New Brunswick school officials say they will review the district’s enrollment process to avoid similar incidents in the future. The district has nearly 10,000 students.