Police order grownup lady who attended Boston colleges as pretend scholar to steer clear of faculty property

Colleges

The lady enrolled in three excessive colleges — one in Dorchester, one in Brighton, and one in Jamaica Plain.

An grownup lady fraudulently enrolled as a scholar at Boston Public Colleges this 12 months, utilizing pretend identities to attend three completely different excessive colleges, in response to Superintendent Mary Skipper.

The lady used pretend identification and paperwork to register and switch colleges underneath a number of pseudonyms, Skipper mentioned in a letter to folks. In the course of the 2022-2023 faculty 12 months, Skipper mentioned, the girl attended Jeremiah E. Burke Excessive Faculty in Dorchester, Brighton Excessive Faculty, and English Excessive Faculty in Jamaica Plain.

Boston police mentioned they’re investigating the incident and have ordered the girl to steer clear of BPS property, however it’s unclear if any costs might be introduced.

“I’m deeply troubled that an grownup would breach the belief of our college communities by posing as a scholar,” Skipper mentioned in an announcement to The Boston Globe. “This seems to be a case of extraordinarily subtle fraud.”

The pretend scholar was caught after a BPS employees member observed “irregularities” in her paperwork final week, Skipper mentioned. The employees member reported their findings to district management, and so they instantly contacted Boston police.

“Whereas the investigation is in its early phases and stays ongoing, faculty officers haven’t recognized any incidents of hurt to college students or employees,” Skipper wrote within the letter. “Right now, households of scholars who could have interacted with this particular person are being contacted instantly by faculty employees and investigators.”

How the pretend scholar was caught

In accordance with the police report in regards to the incident, the investigation into the pretend scholar started June 14 when a person got here to English Excessive Faculty to take “his daughter” house. The person advised employees he was going to take her out of the college and enroll her at St. Columbkille Faculty in Brighton, a personal Catholic faculty, due to the bullying she was receiving at English Excessive Faculty.

The employees member discovered the assertion odd as a result of the pretend scholar had solely simply enrolled at English Excessive Faculty on June 8, and since the college had begun to handle the bullying earlier that morning, the report mentioned.

“Involved that there could also be some kind of custodial challenge with the mother and father, the college started to ask from the district all the enrollment paperwork,” the report reads. “It was when wanting by means of the paperwork {that a} faculty
administrator observed that one of many varieties submitted for enrollment was not proper.”

The administrator observed that the letterhead on a type supposedly from the Division of Youngsters and Households (DCF) was incorrect, the report mentioned. The administrator then tried the quantity offered for the social employee listed as working with the household, nevertheless it went to voicemail.

When the administrator known as the DCF workplace listed on the paperwork to talk with the social employee, the division mentioned that no social employee by that identify labored at that workplace, the report mentioned. A DCF employee then appeared up the identify of the social employee to see what workplace they labored at, however discovered no DCF workers with that identify.

What we nonetheless don’t know in regards to the pretend scholar

Neither police nor BPS has launched the true id of the pretend scholar or the pseudonyms she used. It’s unclear whether or not the pretend scholar was enrolled at BPS previous to this faculty 12 months, what her age is, or what her motive was.

Three suspects are listed on the police report, however most of their info is redacted. The one info offered is that two are white girls, and one is a white man.

WCVB reported {that a} supply advised them the pretend scholar is 32 years previous and labored as a social employee for DCF from 2016 to 2017, throughout elements of 2018, and from December 2021 to February 2023. DCF can also be investigating the incident, the information station reported.

A couple of circumstances of adults enrolling as pretend college students in excessive colleges have been reported in recent times. In 2018, a 25-year-old man enrolled at a Dallas highschool to “relive his basketball glory days.” He was caught after he tried to this point a 14-year-old.

In 2022, a 28-year-old Hispanic lady enrolled at a Louisiana highschool as a result of she wished to be taught English. Earlier this 12 months, a 29-year-old South Korean lady enrolled at a New Jersey highschool to “recreate the sense of security” she felt over a decade in the past whereas attending a Massachusetts boarding faculty.

Boston police didn’t reply to additional questions Tuesday evening.