Police said Kacy Claassen enrolled under a fake name before a principal found her real identity online.
NEW YORK — A 28-year-old woman from Kansas was arrested after police said she posed as a 16-year-old student and attended a Bronx high school for about two weeks under a false name.
Kacy Claassen is accused of enrolling at Westchester Square Academy on April 13 as “Shamara Rashad,” a supposed teenager who had recently come to New York from Ohio. Police said the case began to unravel after school officials grew suspicious and the principal found a Facebook page that appeared to show Claassen’s real name, age and identity. The case has led city school officials to review how the enrollment was approved.
Police were called to Westchester Square Academy on April 27 for a possible identity theft case, according to accounts citing the criminal complaint. Claassen had been issued a school identification card and had attended classes before school staff confronted her. The complaint said she gave a fake date of birth of March 8, 2010. When the principal questioned her, she first maintained that she was the teenager named on the school records and said she had come to New York with a sister. Investigators said she later admitted she was Kacy Claassen, age 28.
The criminal complaint said Claassen told authorities that a friend had pushed her to lie about her identity so the friend could use her to get more public assistance. Officials have not publicly explained what benefits were sought, whether any money was paid or whether another person is under investigation. Police charged Claassen with criminal impersonation and trespassing, and some reports also listed endangering the welfare of a child. She pleaded not guilty and was released without bond after her arraignment. Her next court date was set for June 15.
New York City Public Schools said enrollment fraud is taken seriously and that the matter remained under investigation with police. The school, in the Westchester Square section of the Bronx, serves high school students in a city system where enrollment records are used to place children, issue student identification and provide services. Officials have not said which documents Claassen used to enroll, whether staff accepted an outside identification card or whether any records from another school were submitted. The public record also has not said whether Claassen attended full school days or took part in any school activities.
The case became more personal after Claassen’s ex-husband, Kenneth Ault, spoke publicly about their past. Ault said Claassen had long talked about wanting to become an actress and live in New York. He described her as imaginative and said she had moved from Kansas after their 2023 divorce. Ault said the divorce came around the same period when Claassen lost custody of her daughter. He said he did not wish her harm and hoped she received help, but he also said he was surprised by the allegation that she entered a school as a teenager.
Other accounts described a difficult path before the Bronx arrest. Claassen previously said she had struggled with mental health issues, homelessness and efforts to rebuild her life after leaving Kansas. A mental health advocate who had known her years earlier said Claassen appeared vulnerable and had faced serious hardship. Those accounts have not been tested in court, and police have not said that mental health was a factor in the school enrollment case. No public document has shown that Claassen was accused of harming a student or staff member while inside the building.
The arrest echoed other cases in which adults entered schools by claiming to be younger than they were, but officials have not described the Bronx case as part of a larger pattern. The central question for investigators is how a woman nearly twice the claimed age was able to enroll and remain in a high school for days before being challenged. School officials said the investigation was active. Police have not released the full enrollment file, the school’s internal review or any final explanation of the checks that failed.
Claassen’s legal case is still in an early stage. Criminal impersonation cases can turn on what a defendant allegedly represented, what documents were used and whether another person or agency was defrauded. Trespassing can involve whether the person had permission to be inside a building and whether that permission was gained through false information. Prosecutors could continue with the listed charges, change the complaint or add details as the case moves forward. Claassen remains presumed innocent unless convicted.
As of Thursday, Claassen had been arrested, pleaded not guilty and was awaiting her next scheduled appearance on June 15. City education officials and police had not released a final account of how she entered the school system under the alleged false identity.
Author note: Last updated May 14, 2026.