Woman arrested for enrolling as New Jersey high school student

A 29-year-old woman has been arrested in New Jersey for allegedly posing as a high school student.

The woman, identified by police as Hyejeong Shin, has been charged with using a fake identification document to enrol in New Brunswick High School.

Ms Shin was on the roster for several days before staff found out her age.

School officials said police are investigating the matter, and a review of the district's enrolment process will be conducted.

It is unclear if Ms Shin has yet obtained a lawyer who could comment on her behalf.

The issue came to light at a local Board of Education meeting on Tuesday, where New Brunswick Public School District Superintendent Aubrey Johnson told attendees that Ms Shin was caught at the school.

"Last week, by filing some false documents, an adult female posing as a student was able to be enrolled in our high school," Mr Johnson said.

"She attended school for four days," he said, adding that she had been in a few classes and spent some time with guidance counsellors who were trying to find out more information about her.

Ms Shin's false age was then uncovered, Mr Johnson said, and the school immediately notified police.

She has since been arrested for providing a false birth certificate "with the intent to enrol as a juvenile high-school student", the New Brunswick Police Department has said.

Students who spoke to BBC News' US partner CBS said they were upset after learning that the woman enrolled in their high school using a fake ID. Parents who spoke to local media also expressed alarm.

Students also staged a protest on school grounds on Wednesday, CBS reported, demanding answers and better security.

Others said that the woman had contacted some students via text message, asking them to hang out.

One student told CBS New York that the girls "never showed up, and she [Ms Shin] started acting weird with them".

It is unclear why Ms Shin had posed as a high school student. Mr Johnson said police were investigating the matter.

He added that students have been told not to have further contact with Ms Shin, and that the school district will review its enrolment process to prevent any similar incident.

New Jersey state law allows students to be enrolled in school even without a guardian or without all the paperwork available, police said.

This is not the first time an adult has been caught posing as a high school student.

A man named Brian MacKinnon posed as a fifth-year student in a high school near Glasgow in 1993 when he was 30 years old. He claimed to be a 17-year-old from Canada.

MacKinnon remained enrolled at the school for a whole year. He was exposed a year later when he was a student at Dundee University's medical school, after a newspaper reported on his real identity.

His story drew worldwide attention and was the subject of a 2022 documentary film.