Woman Who Posed As New Brunswick High School Student Is A Rutgers Grad

NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ — The 29-year-old adult woman who posed as a teenager and enrolled in classes at New Brunswick High School this January is a Rutgers graduate.

Hyejeong Shin, 29, attended Rutgers University-New Brunswick and graduated with a bachelor of arts degree in political science and a minor in Chinese, confirmed a university spokeswoman.

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.

She attended New Brunswick High School for about four days two weeks ago "before being found out," said New Brunswick schools superintendent Aubrey Johnson. Police say she submitted a false birth certificate to the New Brunswick Board of Education when she enrolled.

New Brunswick Today quoted students saying they have received ongoing text messages from the woman, even into this week. The newspaper also reported some students suspect the woman is trying to lure teenage girls into illegal sex work. One teen student told the newspaper she continues to receive text messages from the woman late at night, asking to "hang out," even after the woman was arrested and barred from ever stepping foot on school grounds.

School officials contacted police, and the woman has been arrested and barred from returning to school property.

Johnson also said all students who had encounters with "this person" have been contacted by the district, and the school district also told students to refrain from having further contact with her, "either remotely or in person."

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