24-year-old man accused of pretending to be a 16-year-old to attend high school
TOLEDO, Ohio (WTVG/Gray News) – A 24-year-old Venezuelan man living in Ohio was arrested after officials say he pretended to be a 16-year-old student to attend high school.
According to a letter to parents, Perrysburg Schools said Anthony Labrador was arrested Monday on charges of felony forgery by the Perrysburg Police Department.
The school said he is from Venezuela and was living in Ohio with two adult legal guardians, who ed the school saying they had found out that he was not a minor.
The school said when he enrolled, he provided an Ohio’s Driver’s License, a social security number, a temporary protective status from the U.S. Immigration Department and had submitted a completed an application for a VISA.
Labrador ed the school in November 2023, claiming to be trafficked from Venezuela and now living in Perrysburg. He said he was hoping to be enrolled in the school district.
He claimed his birthday was Dec. 2, 2007. In January 2024, he provided what he claimed to be a Venezuelan birth certificate and started attending the school.
Police reports said a local family was ed about Labrador while he was completing the enrollment process, as they had housed exchange students in the past. They agreed to help Labrador, and he moved into their home in March 2024.
Two months later, the family was granted temporary guardianship over Labrador. In November 2024, they were granted permanent guardianship. They helped him get a social security number and an Ohio driver’s license, officials said.
Perrysburg police said on May 14, 2025, the mother of Labrador’s child reached out to his guardians to disclose he was actually a 24-year-old father, not a teenager. She sent the guardians photos and documents as proof, including an Ohio license under the name Anthony Emmanuel Labrador Sierra with a birthday of March 27, 2001.
At that point, local police spoke to border patrol officials, who said Labrador had an expired visa status as of 2023 and had overstayed his time in the United States.
“This case involves highly unusual and deceptive circumstances that impacted many local, state and federal agencies,” Perrysburg Schools Superintendent Tom Hosler said in the letter to parents. “The school district has reviewed its actions regarding enrollment and is confident proper legal channels were followed to provide for an individual presenting themselves as an unaccompanied minor as spelled out in the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act. We appreciate our close partnership with the Perrysburg Police Division and the swift action taken.”
Perrysburg Township police arrested Labrador after a traffic stop on I-75 on May 19.
He faced a Wood County judge on May 20 where he pleaded not guilty.
The judge issued a no- order for the school and the family who took him in.
Labrador being held in the Wood County Jail on a $50,000 bond.
If he were to post bond, he’d have to wear an ankle monitor and stay two miles away from the school and the house where he was staying. ICE has also requested to be notified of his release so that they can take him into custody for immigration proceedings.
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