ST. ChARLES PARISH, La. — Two people were arrested after investigators learned that a 17-year-old student at a high school in St. Charles Parish was actually a 28-year-old woman, according to sheriff’s deputies.
In a news release, the St. Charles Parish Sheriff’s Office said that Marta Elizeth Serrano-Alvarado, 46, and her daughter, Martha Jessenia Gutierrez-Serrano, 28, have been charged with a count each of injuring public records.
Officials with St. Charles Parish Public Schools contacted the sheriff’s office on May 29 after beginning to suspect that an adult was posing as a student during the 2022-2023 school year at Hahnville High School, according to WVUE.
Administrators got a tip that a girl student, who was on the record as being 17 years old, was actually an adult in her mid-20′s, according to the sheriff’s office. This led to an internal investigation and school officials contacted the sheriff’s office.
Detectives learned during their investigation that Gutierrez-Serrano’s mother had enrolled her in the high school with a fraudulent passport and birth certification, the sheriff’s office said. Investigators obtained arrest warrants for both Gutierrez-Serrano and Serrano-Alvarado.
It is unclear how long Gutierrez-Serrano attended the high school or what the motive was, according to WVUE.