GOP senator says 24-year-old Venezuelan allegedly caught posing as high school student may have had relationship with minor

Ohio police say that a 24-year-old Venezuelan migrant was caught pretending to be 16 years old in order to attend a high school and was living with a couple who housed exchange students.

Anthony Emmanuel Labrador Sierra was accepted to attend a high school in Perrysburg, Ohio, in Nov. 2023 after claiming to be homeless and an immigrant from Venezuela, according to City of Perrysburg Police.

His alleged scam began unraveling when a woman contacted the Melfreds to tell them that Labrador was ‘actually a 24-year-old and he was the father of her child.’

He also claimed to be a victim of human trafficking and presented the school with a birth certificate from the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela that showed a birthdate in 2007. He started attending the school in Jan. 2024, according to police.

Then in March, Kathy and Brad Melfred agreed to house Labrador, as they accepted exchange students and had foster children as well.

The Melfreds helped Labrador obtain a Social Security number and an Ohio driver’s license after being appointed his permanent guardians.

His alleged scam began unraveling when a woman contacted the Melfreds to tell them that Labrador was “actually a 24-year-old and he was the father of her child.” She presented them with another birth certificate showing Labrador to be instead a 24-year-old man as well as photos from Facebook showing him and a small child.

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Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images

When police reached out to U.S. Border Patrol, the agency confirmed that Labrador had an actual birthdate from 2001 and an expired work visa. Border Patrol also said that Labrador was considered a visa overstay.

Police arrested Labrador on Monday on felony forgery charges.

Republican U.S. Sen. Bernie Moreno of Ohio blamed the Temporary Protection Status policies of former President Joe Biden for the incident and said that there’s evidence Labrador might have had “a relationship with a minor.”

“Unreal. Thanks to Joe Biden’s abuse of TPS, a 24 year old illegal alien was caught on a fake asylum claim pretending to be a teenager at a high school in Ohio,” said Moreno on social media.

“Today, I am calling for a full investigation into this scandal and what is being done to keep our children safe,” he added.

In a letter to FBI Director Kash Patel, Moreno called for an investigation into the incident to root out whether the migrant had committed sexual misconduct.

Online records indicate that Labrador was given a bond of $50,000.

Labrador had joined the junior varsity soccer and swim teams at the high school. The district said it reported the incident to the Ohio High School Athletic Association.

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