UNITED STATES NEWS

Judge: 29-year-old who posed as teen student because she was lonely can enter pretrial program

May 15, 2023, 12:40 PM

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. (AP) — A 29-year-old woman accused of using false documents to enroll as a New Jersey high school student and attend some classes over a four-day period will be allowed to enter a pretrial intervention program, a state judge ruled Monday.

The woman had pleaded not guilty in March to a charge of providing a false government document. Her lawyer has said she did so because she was lonely and longed to return to her days with friends in school but now realizes she made a mistake. She will have to undergo a mental health evaluation and, if she completes the program, the charge against her could eventually be dismissed.

The woman is a South Korean citizen who came to the United States by herself when she was 16 to attend a private boarding school, the lawyer said. She later graduated from Rutgers University in 2019.

The lawyer said his client had no nefarious intentions when she enrolled at New Brunswick High School in January. She was just seeking to return to “a place of safety and welcoming and an environment that she looks back on fondly,” he said.

Authorities have said the woman got the phone numbers of students who helped her find her way through the school and continued to text some of them days after her ruse was discovered. She was barred from entering school grounds in the district and officials have advised students to not have any contact with her.

The woman provided district officials with a false birth certificate when she enrolled, officials have said. The district has nearly 10,000 students.

Schools in the state are required to immediately enroll unaccompanied children, even in the absence of records normally required for that purpose. Proof of guardianship is also not needed to immediately enroll an unaccompanied youth. Once enrolled, students have 30 days to provide additional proof of identity.

United States News

FILE - This undated photo provided by the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office in Minnesota on June 3, ...

Associated Press

High-profile attacks on Derek Chauvin and Larry Nassar put spotlight on violence in federal prisons

Derek Chauvin was stabbed nearly two dozen times in the law library at a federal prison in Arizona. Larry Nassar was knifed repeatedly in his cell at a federal penitentiary in Florida. The assaults of two notorious, high-profile federal prisoners by fellow inmates in recent months have renewed concerns about whether the chronically understaffed, crisis-plagued […]

32 minutes ago

FILE - Maureen Reid, left, and her guide dog, Gaston, cross the intersection of Wood Street and Roo...

Associated Press

Census Bureau wants to change how it asks about disabilities. Some advocates don’t like it

The U.S. Census Bureau wants to change how it asks people about disabilities, and some advocates are complaining that they were not consulted enough on what amounts to a major overhaul in how disabilities would be defined by the federal government. Disability advocates say the change would artificially reduce their numbers by almost half. At […]

36 minutes ago

(AP Photo/Richard Drew)...

Associated Press

Retail group pulls back on claim organized retail crime accounts for nearly half of inventory loss

The National Retail Federation has revised a report that pulls back the claim that organized retail crime accounts for nearly half of overall industry shrink.

4 hours ago

Associated Press

Hunter Biden indicted on nine tax charges, adding to gun charges in special counsel probe

WASHINGTON (AP) — Hunter Biden was indicted on nine tax charges in California on Thursday as a special counsel investigation into the business dealings of President Joe Biden’s son intensifies against the backdrop of the looming 2024 election. The new charges — three felonies and six misdemeanors — are in addition to federal firearms charges […]

4 hours ago

Associated Press

Mother of Florida boy accused of football practice shooting now charged with felony

APOPKA, Fla. (AP) — A Florida woman whose 11-year-old is accused of shooting two teenagers at a football practice in October was charged with a felony Thursday after authorities say she left a loaded gun in a worn and tattered cardboard box in her car. Sharelle Johnson, 33, did not have the box secured and […]

5 hours ago

Follow @ktar923...

Sponsored Content by Collins Comfort

Avoid a potential emergency and get your home’s heating and furnace safety checked

With the weather getting colder throughout the Valley, the best time to make sure your heating is all up to date is now. 

Sponsored Articles

...

Dierdre Woodruff

Interest rates may have peaked. Should you buy a CD, high-yield savings account, or a fixed annuity?

Interest rates are the highest they’ve been in decades, and it looks like the Fed has paused hikes. This may be the best time to lock in rates for long-term, low-risk financial products like fixed annuities.

...

Desert Institute for Spine Care

Desert Institute for Spine Care (DISC) wants to help Valley residents address back, neck issues through awake spine surgery

As the weather begins to change, those with back issues can no longer rely on the dry heat to aid their backs. That's where DISC comes in.

...

SCHWARTZ LASER EYE CENTER

Key dates for Arizona sports fans to look forward to this fall

Fall brings new beginnings in different ways for Arizona’s professional sports teams like the Cardinals and Coyotes.

Judge: 29-year-old who posed as teen student because she was lonely can enter pretrial program