Venezuelan migrant dad, 24, posed as Ohio high schooler, student athlete - and tricked family into taking him in: cops
An adult Venezuelan migrant and father allegedly pretended to be a 16-year-old boy so he could enroll in an Ohio high school — and even played two sports with kids nearly a decade younger, according to police.
Anthony Emmanuel Labrador Sierra is accused of falsely presenting himself as an unaccompanied minor and enrolling at Perrysburg High School, southwest of Toledo, in January last year — and tricking a family into taking him in, according to police.
When he first contacted the school in November 2023, he allegedly claimed that he had been trafficked to the US from Venezuela and said his birthday was Dec. 2, 2007, according to police documents seen by 13 ABC.
However, he is allegedly a 24-year-old Venezuelan national who has children living in the US, according to prosecutors.
He told school officials his name was Anthony Labrador, according to a letter sent from Perrysburg Schools Superintendent Thomas Hosler to parents and community members.
Sierra was enrolled at the school for 14 months before school officials contacted the Perrysburg Police Division on Monday regarding possible fraudulent activity involving one of their students, police said in a statement on Tuesday.
Cops opened a fraud case and assigned it to the Detective Bureau for investigation.
'Through our investigation and working with U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Office of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, it was discovered that Anthony Emmanuel Labrador Sierra, a 24-year-old from Venezuela, had used fraudulent documents to enroll in Perrysburg Schools, and was posing as a 17-year-old high school student,' the statement read.
Sierra lived with a Perrysburg family after his guardianship was granted by the Wood County Juvenile Court, according to Hosler.
The family became suspicious about Sierra's real age and contacted the school, saying they had received information that he was, in fact, a 24-year-old man, Hosler's letter read.
On May 14, the mother of Sierra's child allegedly reached out to his oblivious guardians and claimed he was 24 years old, sending them photos and documents, including an Ohio driver's license under his real name with a birthday of March 27, 2001, according to police documents.
Sierra denied the allegations when he was confronted by school officials, referencing his birth certificate, which would have made him 17 as of May 14.
But the school district told Sierra's guardians to keep him off school property while they investigated.
Sierra smirked at the camera as he appeared in Perrysburg Municipal Court on Tuesday afternoon via video from the Wood County Jail, where he was listed as Anthony Emmanuel Labrador Sierra.
A judge set his bond at $50,000 and forbade him from leaving Wood County.
He will also have to wear an ankle monitor and remain two miles away from Perrysburg High School.
When asked where he would live if released, he said he would stay with a woman named Emily with whom he said he shares children.
His alleged scam was uncovered after school district leaders discovered social media posts by people claiming to be Sierra's real family, WTOL 11 reported.
While at the school, Sierra was involved in the school's swimming and soccer programs, Hosler told WTOL 11.
He allegedly applied for and received various documentation while he was enrolled at the school, including a driver's license, a Social Security number and federal Temporary Protective Status from the US Immigration Department, according to court records.
Sierra also allegedly completed a visa application with the help of Advocating Opportunities, a group that provides free legal assistance.
As a non-US citizen, Sierra's charges may lead to deportation, prosecutors said.
Police are looking into what prosecutors described as 'questionable material' found at the home where Sierra was staying, as well as issues he reportedly had with the school.
Sierra entered a plea of not guilty on Tuesday and will be represented by a public defender.
Originally published as Venezuelan migrant dad, 24, posed as Ohio high schooler, student athlete - and tricked family into taking him in: cops
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