Venezuelan man accused of posing as Ohio high school student arrested
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.
Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
