A 32-year-old woman faces felony charges for posing as a homeless teenager to enroll and attend classes at a high school in the Catskill Mountains, authorities said Friday as they tried to determine her motive.
Michaelann Goodrich presented herself as a 15-year-old to enroll in the Cairo-Durham school district 40 miles (64 kilometers) southwest of Albany last month, School Superintendent Anthony Taibi said Friday. Officials were skeptical of her story when Goodrich enrolled on Dec. 19 under the name “Riley Madison,” but they were required by federal law to accept her because she claimed she was homeless, Taibi said.
“The regulation exists to ensure that students who are runaway or abducted youth get into an accountable, safe environment as quickly as possible,” Taibi said. “It has worked well, but this situation highlights a vulnerability that exists.”
School officials contacted the sheriff’s office to launch an investigation, but in the meantime, Goodrich rode on a school bus, attended classes and had lunch at school on Dec. 21, before the holiday break, Taibi said.
“We made sure that under no circumstances was she not under the supervision of a staff member,” Taibi said.
Greene County Sheriff’s Investigator Joel Rowell said Goodrich, who lives in Cairo with her husband, was charged Dec. 28 with offering a false instrument for filing, falsifying business records and criminal trespassing. She was released from jail after a court appearance Thursday evening, to await further court action.
The public defender assigned to Goodrich didn’t return a phone call seeking comment Friday afternoon.
Rowell said Goodrich and her husband previously lived in California and Washington state and it’s unclear how long they’ve been in Cairo. He said Goodrich has no job or children, but does have a diploma from a high school in California.
In a 1999 movie, an actress plays a journalist who poses as a high school student to gather details for a story. But officials have no idea what Goodrich’s motivation was.
“She didn’t have an explanation,” Rowell said. “That’s why we’re reaching out to parents of kids who were with her in school or on the bus to find out what their interactions were, so we can try to determine her motive.”
(AP)
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7 Responses
She should claim she “feels 15 years old” and then sue the school district for “age discrimination…”
why can’t she identify as a teen?
So now attending public school is a crime? This is the same New York which recognizes dozens of different “genders”. This woman could legally register as either a male or as dozens of weird invented creatures. And speaking of “falsifying” records and “trespass” – isn’t this the same New York that champions the so-called undocumented immigrants? But it is a crime to feel young and register as such?
Good point, George,
All she needs is to start a new “rights” group.
Name it : Trans-TeenGender!
I once met a woman I could have sworn was in her late teens. It turned out she was 32.
In retrospect, I should not have been surprised, as this “woman” was disturbed — possibly on the spectrum. It was more than having a youthful personality; in her speech, dress, manner, and behavior she was creepy and childlike, as well as detached from reality.
While I can’t generalize, and I mean no offense, I found a lot of these kind of people stunted. Maybe their brains are different; they lack the neural wiring that allows for evolution and makes an adult truly an adult.
My theory probably explains the psychology of many liberal types, particularly SJWs, who I suspect have mental health issues.
I don’t understand what is the big deal, she didn’t harm anybody, and public schools are public buildings that don’t charge tuition. Why should this be considered a crime, and why does she have less rights to use the public schools than the illegal immigrants who also attend for free?
Moeisrael: I think the issue is that there aee “adults” (or let’s say people of adult age) who hang around schools to prey on the youth. I believe that’s the reason for the law.