A 28-year-old Louisiana woman managed to pose as a teenage student and make it through the entire year before she was discovered. Martha Jessenia Gutierrez-Serrano enrolled at Hahnville High School in June 2022. According to authorities with the St. Charles Parish Sheriff’s Office, they aren’t real concerned about any serious wrongdoing and there haven’t been any complaints. The woman simply wanted to learn English.
Adult student exposed by tip
As a student, Martha Jessenia Gutierrez-Serrano fit right in at Hahnville High School. She may have seemed a little “mature” for 17 but had great attendance, did her schoolwork and “minded her own business.”
St. Charles Parish Sheriff Greg Champagne relates that she “caused no trouble,” and was “not a disciplinary problem.” Most importantly she wasn’t some twisted sexual predator.
From what he was able to determine, “the young woman wanted to become proficient in English and perhaps further her education, which I think we can all be sympathetic with.”
.@PlanetTyrus
Marta Elizeth Serrano Alvarado and Her Daughter Martha Jessenia Gutierrez Serrano Arrested After The 28-year-Old Enrolled At Hahnville High School Posing As Teenager https://t.co/5MnuNxbfJJ via @whereisthebuzz pic.twitter.com/YLWVJr7V34— PattiO (@soylentbeige) June 15, 2023
While her motivations were good ones, in order to enroll as a student, her mother, 46-year-old Marta Elizeth Serrano-Alvarado, “used a fraudulent passport and birth certificate.” That’s a no-no.
They have some strange laws down in the Cajun bayou country. While most of America’s legal system is based on English Common Law, Louisiana has ones which came from the Napoleonic code.
They arrested and charged the women with “one count each of injuring public records” on Wednesday, June 15.
Ready to graduate
It wasn’t until she was getting ready to graduate with her class that they got a “tip” the student was really “an adult in her mid-20s.” They called the sheriff’s office in May and an investigation opened immediately.
Detectives soon verified the enrollment documents were forgeries. It’s not clear if either woman has an attorney.
According to Superintendent Ken Oterling, “St. Charles Parish Public Schools is now reviewing enrollment procedures and conducting an audit of enrollment documents of all current students.”
Unveiling the Louisiana high school scandal: 28-year-old Martha Jessenia Gutierrez-Serrano was arrested for posing as a teenage student, exposing a shocking web of fraud and deceit. https://t.co/GglcLFniQK
— Parent Herald (@ParentHerald) June 15, 2023
They think it might be a good idea to see if they have any other imposters in the student body.
Just to be on the safe side, the local school system “will also provide additional required training for all school and district-level employees focused on recognizing potentially fraudulent documents.”
It seems that they have spent way too much time focusing on Pride issues and re-writing the Biology study guides to eliminate words like man, woman, male or female. They can recognize where each student falls on the gender spectrum at a glance but don’t have a clue how to spot a birth certificate someone printed up at home with a laser printer.
