Man, 24, Who Allegedly Posed as 16-Year-Old to Enroll in Ohio High School Arrested and Accused of Forgery

A 24-year-old man has been accused of forging documents to pose as a 16-year-old so that he could enroll in an Ohio high school.

Anthony Emmanuel Labrador Sierra was arrested on charges of felony forgery on Monday, May 19, by the Perrysburg Police Department, according to the Perrysburg school district.

Labrador enrolled in Perrysburg High School in January 2024 and went on to obtain an Ohio driver’s license and social security number, a statement provided to PEOPLE by the district said. He also received assistance to apply for a visa and was placed under a temporary protected status.

The birth certificate that he presented at the school alleged he was born on Dec. 2, 2007, according to ABC News.

Labrador allegedly first reached out to Perrysburg Schools in November 2023, and claimed that “he had been homeless and was an immigrant from Venezuela,” the outlet reported, citing a police report. Labrador also claimed that he had been trafficked.

On Jan. 19, 2024, Labrador began at the local high school. He did so with a birth certificate from the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, according to ABC News.

Labrador told the school district that he was residing in the nearby city Toledo. He was taken in by Kathy and Brad Melfred on March 21, 2024. After being granted a temporary guardianship, they became his permanent guardians in November 2024, according to reporting by local publication The Blade.

He presented as a normal student and participated in sports, swimming and soccer at the high school.

Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE’s free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.     

However, on May 14, 2025, a woman named Evelyn Camacho reached out to the Melfreds and alleged that Labrador was lying. Citing the police, ABC said that she told them he was “actually a 24-year-old and he was the father of her child.”

She presented evidence, including photos of him posing with a child and Camacho. She also shared a photo of his alleged driver’s license, which stated he was actually born on March 27, 2001.

The Melfreds reached out to the school district, who commenced an investigation, the district said in their statement. In doing so, they turned up additional photos that showed Labrador on social media. They shared their findings with the police.

Working with U.S. Customs and Border Protection, local police learned that he was allegedly staying in the U.S. on an expired work visa and was “an overstay in this country,” per ABC.

Police arrested Labrador on Monday, May 19, and he was arraigned the following day. Labrador will return to Perrysburg Municipal Court on May 29 for a preliminary hearing, The Blade reported.

The outlet noted that Labrador denied all of the allegations against him while meeting with the school district. He was told to stay off the school’s campus days before his arrest.

“This situation is both as troubling as it is heartbreaking,” Tom Hosler, superintendent of Perrysburg schools, said in a statement shared with The Blade. “Members of our staff and community opened their hearts and homes to someone they believed was a vulnerable teenager who had been abused and needed help.”

He continued, saying, “Their compassion and willingness to step up exemplify the very best of our values and makes Perrysburg Schools such a special place. While it appears that this individual misrepresented himself and violated the trust of many, we remain proud of those who acted out of kindness and good faith.”

PEOPLE reached out to the Perrysburg Police Division, the Wood County Sheriff’s Office, Perrysburg High School and U.S. Customs and Border Protection for comment on the case but did not hear back at the time of publication.