29-year-old woman arrested after attending high school as a freshman is suspected of luring teens into human trafficking

A woman named Hyejeong Shin, 29, was allowed to attend a New Jersey high school for four days after she presented a fake birth certificate to the New Brunswick, NJ board of education Timcast.

Shin, who faces third-degree charges for presenting a false government document with intent to verify age or identity, was immediately admitted to high school under state law.

“Under New Jersey law (18a:36-25.1) and New Jersey Department of Education guidelines, schools are required to promptly enroll unaccompanied children even in the absence of documentation normally required for enrollment,” reads one Statement from New Brunswick Police.

“Proof of guardianship is not required to immediately enroll an unaccompanied child or youth,” the statement continued.

The 29-year-old presented herself as a freshman for four days before a teacher suspected the woman. The superintendent then became aware of her age at a school board meeting and immediately expelled the woman from the school and prohibited her from entering the school grounds.

“She pretended to be a freshman, which is even more surprising because I don’t think she looks like a freshman,” said a student at New Brunswick High School CBS Newswhile another student told the channel the defendant had texted several of her classmates asking them to “hang out.”

“Some of the girls I know, the girl asked her to hang out on Commercial Avenue, but they never showed up and she started acting weird towards them,” the coed added.

On Commercial Avenue, several witnesses allege that Shin was trying to lure students, with the possibility that she may have been trying to sell them.

“I think she was really trying to act with young women [why] Anyone hearing about this needs to be aware of their surroundings,” said Abrianna Martin, a senior at the 2,000-student school.

“I heard she’s still trying to contact some of the young girls here even after we found out,” she said NBCDFW.

Another man named Michael Castro, who attended the Education Committee meeting, recounted New Brunswick today that he was told the woman’s intention was “to lure children to a certain street in New Brunswick and possibly sell them”.

The superintendent says the school administration will review its enrollment process to better identify forged documents in the future.

A police investigation is underway.