24-year-old posing as teen to attend high school pleads guilty, OH officials say
.png "School officials said a 24-year-old man pretended to be a teen and enrolled in high school.")
A 24-year-old man pleaded guilty to charges after officials say he pretended to be a teenager and attended an Ohio high school for over a year.
Anthony Emmanuel Labrador-Sierra pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm, false statement during purchase of a firearm and two counts of making or using false writings or documents.
McClatchy News reached out to Labrador-Sierra’s attorney for comment but didn’t immediately hear back.
Labrador-Sierra was charged in federal court after officials said he posed as a 16-year-old high school student and attended Perrysburg High School.
Labrador-Sierra enrolled in the high school in January 2024, according to a news release from the school. He eventually became a member of the JV soccer and swim teams.
However, in May, it was brought to the school’s attention that Labrador-Sierra may not be who he said he was, according to officials.
Before enrolling in the school, Labrador-Sierra worked with immigration attorneys and filed for temporary protective status in the U.S. By doing so, he was able to obtain an Ohio driver’s license, a Social Security card and a work permit, according to the release.
With these documents, the Wood County Juvenile Court granted a “compassionate family” guardianship over Labrador-Sierra, the school said. The family, attorneys and officials all believed he was 16 or 17 years old, according to the school.
However, on May 14, the guardians contacted the school and reported they received information that Labrador-Sierra was a 24-year-old adult, the school said.
When the guardians received this information, they searched Labrador-Sierra’s room and found a prepaid phone, a fake Michigan driver’s license, money and a gun under his mattress with three loaded magazines, according to a criminal complaint.
School administrators met with Labrador-Sierra and he initially denied the allegations and said the birth certificate provided during enrollment, showing he was a teenager, was real, the school said. However, he was ordered to stay off school grounds as officials investigated.
“We’ve reviewed our enrollment process and confirmed we followed federal law. Under the McKinney-Vento Act, passed in 1987 and signed into law by President Ronald Reagan, schools are required to immediately enroll unaccompanied minors without requiring standard enrollment paperwork,” the school said.
Authorities entered Labrador-Sierra’s information into the Customs and Border Protection databases and found he entered the country with a Venezuelan passport in September 2019, when he was 18 years old, and was permitted to stay in the U.S. until March 2020, the complaint said.
Labrador-Sierra had a return flight to Venezuela scheduled for Nov. 30, 2019, but records show he never boarded, according to the complaint.
“We share the anger and frustration expressed by many in our community. This individual is accused of misrepresenting his identity, forging documents, and exploiting systems designed to protect vulnerable youth,” the release said.
Labrador-Sierra is scheduled to be sentenced in January.
This story was originally published September 23, 2025 at 9:41 AM with the headline "24-year-old posing as teen to attend high school pleads guilty, OH officials say."
