PERRYSBURG, OH – Authorities with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) confirmed that a 24-year-old Venezuelan man with an expired work visa was arrested for pretending to be a 16-year-old high school student. Anthony Emmanuel Labrador Sierra is now facing a detainer from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
According to ABC News, the City of Perrysburg Police said that Sierra was arrested on Monday, May 19th after posing as a teenager in January 2024. The next day, May 20th, ICE lodged a detainer. Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary for DHS said in a statement, “ICE lodged a retainer to ensure that this criminal illegal alien is removed from this community and is no longer able to prey on the students of Perrysburg High School.”
A police report states that Sierra had contacted Perrysburg Schools in November 2023, wanting to enroll as a student and claiming that he “had been homeless and was an immigrant from Venezuela.” He also allegedly told the school that he was a victim of human trafficking. Police said that when he met with the school to begin the enrollment process, he presented a birth certificate from the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela with a birthdate of December 2, 2007.
At the time, he told the school he was staying at an address in Toledo. He began school as a student on January 19, 2024. Police said that Kathy and Brad Melfred, who have housed exchange students in the past and had children they adopted, were contacted about Sierra. The Melfreds agreed to assist Sierra and he began residing with them on March 21, 2024.
The Melfreds were granted permanent guardianship over Sierra through the Wood County Common Pleas Court Juvenile Division and they also assisted him in getting a social security number and an Ohio driver’s license.
Police said that on May 14, 2025, the Melfreds were contacted by a woman named Evelyn Camacho, who said that Sierra was “actually a 24-year-old and he was the father of her child.” Camacho then sent the Melfreds a picture of Sierra’s driver’s license with a birthday of March 7, 2001, along with Facebook pictures of the two of them and a small child.
Police reached out to the United States Border Patrol for assistance in the investigation, who advised them that Sierra had an actual birthdate of March 27, 2001, an expired work visa, and was considered “an overstay in this country.”
Officials said his work visa expired the same year he reached out to Pettysburg Schools to enroll. Sierra was arrested after he was located riding in a vehicle on Interstate 75. He was booked for forgery charges. While enrolled in school, Sierra was a member of the junior varsity soccer and swim teams. The district has reported the incident to the Ohio High School Athletic Association.
According to NBS News, the school district described the allegations as “heartbreaking” and said staff members and local families had sought to support someone “they believed was a vulnerable teen,” adding,”Their compassion reflects the best of our community. Though trust was violated, we remain proud of those who chose to help.”
The district said in a statement, “This case involves highly unusual and deceptive circumstances that impacted many local, state, and federal agencies. The school district has reviewed its actions regarding enrollment and is confident proper legal channels were followed to provide support for an individual presenting themselves as an unaccompanied minor as spelled out in the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act.”
That law, passed in 1987, requires states to ensure that homeless youths have access to the same public education as other students. Sierra remains in custody at the Wood County Jail. His next court date is scheduled for May 29th.
