NJ Woman, 29, Who Tried To Enroll In High School Was Lonely: Reports

NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ — The 29-year-old woman who posed as a teenager and tried to enroll in New Brunswick High School did it because she wanted to make friends, according to multiple media reports.

The woman, Hyejeong Shin, submitted a forged birth certificate and was enrolled at New Brunswick High School for four days this past January before she was discovered.

Her attorney Darren Gelber said he would not use the word "lonely," but he did tell ABC 7:

"This entire case is more about my client's desire to return to a place of safety and welcoming and an environment that she looks back on fondly and nothing more," he said.

He also said she is all alone in this country after she came here as a teenager from South Korea.

Monday was her first court hearing in New Brunswick. She pleaded not guilty and is seeking admittance into pre-trial intervention. If accepted, it means she will undergo counseling and all the charges against her will be dismissed.

Shin graduated from Rutgers University-New Brunswick with a bachelor of arts degree in political science and a minor in Chinese.

She still lives in New Brunswick to this day.

Shin has been charged with one count of providing a false government document, a third-degree crime.

Original Patch report: Adult Woman, 29, Posed As Teen, Enrolled In New Brunswick High School (Jan. 25)