28-Year-Old Woman Arrested for Pretending to Be High Schooler

A Louisiana woman has taken wanting to relive high school to a whole new level. In a story resembling the movie 17 Again, Martha Jessenia Gutierrez-Serrano managed to successfully enroll at Hahnville High School in Boutte, LA and masquerade as a 17-year-old student. She went unnoticed until this week, when deputies with the St. Charles Parish Sheriff's Office arrested the 28-year-old woman and her 46-year-old mother Martha Elizeth Serrano-Alvarado. 

Detectives were first notified by St. Charles Parish Public Schools about the possible age discrepancy on May 29. "School administration received a tip that a female student, who was on record as being 17 years old, was in fact an adult possibly in her mid-20s," a statement from law enforcement posted on Facebook read. An internal investigation led them to contacting the police. After the cops got involved, they found that Gutierrez-Serrano's mother had enrolled her in the school using a fake passport and birth certificate. 

Related: In Minnesota High Schools, Hockey Hair Is an Art Form

The mom and daughter duo were arrested on June 13 on counts of falsifying public records. If found guilty, they could be forced to pay thousands of dollars in fines and serve up to five years in prison.

The story brings to mind another recent incident in the U.S. In May 2021, another 28-year-old woman was arrested after entering a Miami high school and passing herself off as a student. Her reason for doing so? To give out flyers promoting her Instagram account in an attempt to gain more followers. Unlike Gutierrez-Serrano in Louisiana, however, she was promptly apprehended and arrested for trespassing. 

What ever happened to just waiting for your high school class reunion?