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Venezuelan man accused of posing as Ohio high school student arrested

Lauren Keenan (Reporter)
A 24-year-old Venezuelan man was arrested in Ohio for allegedly posing as a 17-year-old student using fake documents to enroll in school.
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Summary

Venezuelan man arrested for posing as teen

A 24-year-old Venezuelan man, Anthony Emmanuel Labrador Sierra, was arrested in Perrysburg, Ohio for allegedly posing as a 17-year-old high school student using fake documents.

Man attended classes

Police say he enrolled in 11th grade, obtained government-issued IDs and lived under court-approved guardianship.

True identity

His true identity was revealed after a woman claimed he fathered her child and provided proof, leading to his arrest and a felony forgery charge.

Full story

A 24-year-old Venezuelan man was arrested after Perrysburg, Ohio, police said he posed as a 17-year-old high school student for more than a year. According to a police report acquired by WTOL, Anthony Emmanuel Labrador Sierra, 24, used fake documents to enroll as an 11th grader at Perrysburg High School in 2024. 

Police said Sierra used a Venezuelan birth certificate depicting himself as Anthony Labrador, then 16 years old. Sierra allegedly told the school he was a homeless immigrant from Venezuela and a victim of human trafficking.

He enrolled at the school and began as a student on Jan. 19, 2024.

Government documents and guardianship granted

Sierra reportedly obtained multiple important government-issued documents, including a driver’s license, a Social Security number and Temporary Protected Status.

Sierra was also living with a family, granted temporary and then permanent guardianship through the Wood County Common Pleas Court Juvenile Division, according to the police report.

Identity allegation leads to arrest

On May 14, 2025, Sierra’s guardian family was contacted by a woman alleging that 17-year-old Anthony Labrador was actually 24-year-old Anthony Emmanuel Labrador Sierra.

The woman told the family she and Sierra had a child together and sent a picture of Sierra’s real identification, showing a birthdate of March 27, 2001. The family took the allegation to Perrysburg Schools.

The school contacted Perrysburg police, which is currently conducting the investigation.

Traffic stop, charges, and immigration hold

Police conducted a traffic stop on Sierra and he was taken into custody on May 19, 2025. Sierra was charged with felony forgery for presenting a forged birth certificate, according to arrest records.

Perrysburg police also contacted U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which advised the department that once Sierra was in custody, immigration authorities would issue a detainer for him.

Cole Lauterbach (Managing Editor) and Ally Heath (Senior Digital Producer) contributed to this report.
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Why this story matters

The arrest of a 24-year-old Venezuelan man for using falsified documents to enroll as a minor at an Ohio high school highlights challenges in identity verification and the potential vulnerabilities within the education and immigration systems.

Identity fraud

The individual's use of forged documents to pose as a high school student led to legal action, raised safety concerns, and highlighted gaps in verifying the age and background of new students.

Systemic oversight

The case draws attention to the processes and safeguards in place within educational and governmental agencies, as multiple local, state and federal authorities — including school officials and immigration services — were unaware of the deception for over a year.

Community trust

The situation affected families, school staff and guardians who acted in good faith to support someone they believed was a vulnerable minor, raising questions about how trust can be maintained while ensuring the safety of both students and schools.

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Synthesized coverage insights across 19 media outlets

Community reaction

According to multiple sources, the Perrysburg community responded with a sense of betrayal as many residents, school staff, and guardian families had supported Labrador Sierra, believing he was a vulnerable teenager. Statements from school officials highlighted the compassion of those who helped and emphasized the need to restore trust and reinforce student safety measures moving forward.

Context corner

Federal and state enrollment laws, such as those outlined in the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, require schools to enroll unaccompanied minors regardless of documentation status. This is to ensure education accessibility for homeless or undocumented youths. Schools have protocols for supporting immigrant and potentially trafficked students, complicating strict verification processes when individuals provide falsified documents.

Do the math

Labrador Sierra reportedly spent over 14 months at the school before being discovered. According to police and court records, his bond was set at $50,000. He possessed multiple forms of identification (driver’s license, Social Security number, Temporary Protected Status) obtained through the falsified identity during the 2023–2025 period.

Sources

  1. Perrysburg, Ohio police report via WTOL

Bias comparison

  • Media outlets on the left frame the story through a compassionate lens, emphasizing the school’s adherence to the McKinney-Vento Act and portraying the individual as a vulnerable youth deceiving well-meaning authorities, using emotionally charged descriptors like “heartbreaking.”
  • Media outlets in the center focus on procedural facts and investigative complexity without emotive framing.
  • Media outlets on the right highlight the man's Venezuelan nationality and labels such as “migrant” and “tricked family,” employing partisan language that fuels skepticism about immigration policies and system exploitation, while de-emphasizing legal protections.

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Media landscape

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19 total sources

Key points from the Left

  • A 24-year-old Venezuelan man, Anthony Emmanuel Labrador Sierra, is accused of pretending to be a teenager to attend Perrysburg High School since January 2024.
  • Labrador reportedly used fraudulent documents to enroll as an unaccompanied minor, including a birth certificate and various identification forms.
  • The school district stated that it followed legal protocols for enrollment under the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act despite the violations.
  • The situation is described as 'heartbreaking,' and the staff supported him thinking he was a vulnerable teen, reflecting community compassion.

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Key points from the Center

  • Perrysburg Schools Superintendent Thomas Hosler revealed that since January 2024, a 24-year-old Venezuelan man named Anthony Emmanuel Labrador Sierra had been enrolled at Perrysburg High School, falsely identifying himself as a 16-year-old student.
  • The man enrolled as an unaccompanied minor under state and federal guidelines for homeless or guardianless students, but his adult guardians later informed the school on May 14 that he was not a minor.
  • School officials investigated after the guardians' report, found social media posts and contacted Perrysburg Police, who confirmed that Labrador used fraudulent documents including a birth certificate, Social Security number, and Ohio driver's license.
  • Perrysburg Police arrested Labrador without incident during a traffic stop on Interstate 75 on Monday, May 19, 2025, and booked him on felony forgery charges while he remains held in Wood County Jail without bond.
  • Superintendent Hosler described the case as "highly unusual and deceptive," involving multiple agencies, and the school said it followed proper legal channels based on McKinney-Vento Act requirements for supporting students like Labrador.

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Key points from the Right

  • A 24-year-old Venezuelan national, Anthony Labrador, was arrested for pretending to be a 16-year-old high school student, beginning in January 2024, as confirmed by the Perrysburg Schools.
  • Labrador participated in the Perrysburg junior varsity soccer team and the swim team during his time at the school.
  • The Perrysburg Police Department charged Labrador with felony forgery on May 19, 2025.
  • The school district expressed that they were heartbroken and emphasized that student safety is their highest priority.

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Sources

  1. Perrysburg, Ohio police report via WTOL