Woman, 28, charged after allegedly posing as 16-year-old Bronx student | US crime

A 28-year-old woman pretended to be 16 and enrolled in a Bronx high school with a fake ID before New York police recently jailed her, according to authorities.

Bronx court records show Kacy Claassen pleaded not guilty to second-degree criminal impersonation and trespassing charges on April 28, the day after her arrest.

The case against Claassen joins a series of lawsuits in the US that recall the plots of films such as 1987’s Hiding Out or 1999’s Never Been Kissed.

First time a Manhattan-based criminal complaint has been reported WABC And New York Post Claassen allegedly enrolled at the Westchester Square academy on April 13, claiming her name was Shamara Rashad and her date of birth was 2010.

Claassen also allegedly told the Westchester Square principal that he had just moved from Ohio, but his ruse was foiled when the principal confronted him with a social media page that revealed his real age and identity, police said.

Investigators allege that Claassen admitted what he had done at that point and told him a friend had lied to him so he could get more public assistance.

Police arrested Claassen at the school, and court records show he was later released without having to post bail pending the outcome of the case against him.

A public defender listed for Claassen did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday.

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for New York City’s public school system released a statement to WABC and the Post saying: “Enrollment fraud is a serious crime that fundamentally undermines schools. [the district’s] values”.

“[Police are] “We will actively investigate these allegations and take all necessary legal action against those responsible,” the statement said, adding: “We are providing all necessary and appropriate support to the school community.”

Claassen’s next hearing is tentatively scheduled for June 15.

His arrest took place just over 50 miles (80 km) from a New Jersey high school where a woman, then 29, was arrested amid allegations that she had fraudulently enrolled as a student.

Investigators in that case alleged — starting in January 2023 — that Hyejeong Shin provided a false birth certificate intended to convince authorities that she was eligible to enroll in a New Brunswick high school. after shin reportedly They were enrolled in a pretrial program for three years and were also required to undergo mental health testing and pay a fine.

It was revealed that four years before Shin’s arrest, a man in his mid-20s had been accepted to Dallas’ Hillcrest High School under an assumed name and subsequently became the top player on the campus’ basketball team.

The man in that case was Sidney Gilstrap-Portley, after all. prisoner He was sentenced to six years of probation after pleading guilty to records tampering and improper sexual intercourse with an underage girl, who was 14 and a Hillcrest high school student. news media the reports said.