29-year-old woman caught posing as high school student

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. (News 12) - A 29-year-old woman was arrested after allegedly posing as a student and attending a New Jersey high school for several days.

Parents are now asking how Hyejeong Shin was allegedly able to do it in the first place.

“I feel that that’s concerning, that us parents have to be the last ones to know about what’s going on when we should obviously be the first ones,” said Yaritza Arroyo, a student’s mother.

It’s not known yet why Shin wanted to go to school, but she did.

For four days, Shin allegedly went to class with actual teenagers at New Brunswick High School.

“To know that a person with that intention was that close to me is even scarier,” said Arroyo’s daughter, 16-year-old Rihanna Colon.

The sophomore joined one of two protests on campus to demand answers and better security at school, claiming there have been other issues that cause concern for her safety.

“I want to see the school make a change. They simply just ignore everything, sweep it under rug for their reputation,” Colon claimed.

New Brunswick Schools Superintendent Aubrey Johnson made a short announcement at Tuesday’s board of education meeting.

Johnson called the incident bothersome and promised to take a closer look at New Brunswick’s enrollment process, but he said it’s now a police matter.

“All appropriate authorities were immediately notified, and the individual in question has now been arrested for providing false documentation,” Johnson added.

Many parents, including Arroyo, want to know how a 29-year-old woman was able to enroll so easily and why she wanted to be there.

“Our children are in schools and we send them there hoping and praying that they are safe, and they’re obviously not,” Arroyo said.

New Brunswick police charged Shin with providing a false government document, in this case, a birth certificate.

Police also said the New Jersey Department of Education requires schools to immediately enroll unaccompanied children, even without records normally required for enrollment.

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