A surprising incident unfolded in Boutte, Louisiana, where a 28-year-old woman, Martha Jessenia Gutierrez-Serrano, successfully masqueraded as a 17-year-old high school student for an entire academic year. Her charade came to an end on Tuesday, June 12th, when she and her mother, 46-year-old Marta Elizeth Serrano-Alvarado, were arrested. Both women face charges of "injuring public records," a charge that encompasses the falsification or alteration of official documents.
The St. Charles Parish Sheriff's Office launched an investigation after receiving a tip-off questioning the student's age. It was revealed that Serrano-Alvarado had enrolled her daughter using fraudulent documents, a forged passport and birth certificate purportedly from Honduras. Gutierrez-Serrano had been attending Hahnville High School, utilizing school transport, since June 2022, without raising any red flags through disciplinary issues or extracurricular involvement.
Sheriff Greg Champagne stated in a press conference that Gutierrez-Serrano's motivation appeared to be a desire to improve her English language skills. While acknowledging her intent wasn't malicious, he emphasized the existence of legitimate pathways for language acquisition, such as GED and ESL programs, making the falsification of records unnecessary and unlawful. The potential penalty for her offense includes a maximum of five years imprisonment or a $5,000 fine.
This case echoes other recent incidents of adults impersonating students. In January, a basketball coach in Virginia was dismissed for impersonating a 13-year-old player during a game. Similarly, a 29-year-old woman in New Jersey was apprehended for posing as a high school student, though her attempt was considerably shorter-lived than Gutierrez-Serrano's year-long deception.
Hahnville High School, located southwest of New Orleans, has a student population of approximately 1,400. This incident raises questions about security protocols and the potential vulnerabilities within the education system.
