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Crime News Breaking News

32-Year-Old Woman (With A Diploma) Allegedly Pretended To Be A Teen To Attend High School

Michaelann Goodrich told a high school she was a homeless 15-year-old girl named Riley Madison. School administrators quickly felt something was off.

By Gina Tron

A woman from upstate New York allegedly attempted to pose as a homeless teenage girl in order to enroll in a high school.

Michaelann Goodrich, 32, was arrested on Dec. 28,  the Greene County Sheriff’s Office announced on Thursday. She allegedly told the Cairo-Durham School District officials that she was a homeless teen named “Riley Madison” who "claimed she was 15 years of age."

It appears that the woman took just one day of classes.

Goodrich even rode the bus to and from school on Dec. 21, according to NBC New York.

“The Greene County Sheriff’s Office conducted an investigation which was diligently concluded before the end of the local schools’ winter vacation,” the sheriff’s office said in its statement.

It’s unclear why the adult would have any interest in taking high school-level classes because she apparently already earned a school diploma,  Greene County Sheriff’s Senior Investigator Joel Rowell told NBC New York.

District Superintendent Anthony Taibi told the outlet that something didn’t feel right about Goodrich’s presence at the school. The local authorities were called as a result of that gut feeling.

Goodrich has been charged with offering felony false information for filing, felony falsifying business records, and misdemeanor criminal trespassing, according to the sheriff’s office. She was jailed in lieu of a $5,000 bail.

It’s unclear whether Goodrich has made similar attempts in other school districts, according to the sheriff’s office. 

An investigation is ongoing.

The sheriff's office has asked anyone with information to call them at 518-943-3300.

[Photo: Greene County Sheriff’s Office]

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