NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) -- The New Jersey woman accused of posing as a teenage high school student meant no harm and longed to return to a time in her life “she looks back on fondly,” her lawyers said Monday.
Hyejeong Shin, 29, was arrested on Jan. 24 after allegedly spending four days pretending to be a high school student at New Brunswick High School.
She pleaded not guilty Monday in court to a third-degree charge of providing a false government document.
Her lawyers hope to avoid any potential jail time. They said she came to the U.S. when she was 16 years old to attend a private boarding school in Massachusetts.
Away from her family in South Korea for years and recently divorced, she sought the safety she felt as a student a decade ago, her lawyers said.
“At no time was anyone or any student in danger,” Shin’s attorney Darren Gelber told WABC on Monday.
“This entire case,” Gelber said, “is more about my client wanting to return to a place of safety and welcoming and an environment that she looks back on fondly and nothing more.”
In a New York Times interview, Gelber called it a “very bizarre” situation that “may be difficult for people to understand.” He said she was a “top-notch” student at Rutgers University, from which she graduated in 2019.
“There are personal issues that she needs to resolve,” said another lawyer for Shin, Henry Hong Jung. “She’s been away from home a long time.”
The case brought criticism from worried parents, who wondered how a grown woman was able to pose as a student at the school for days, attending class and engaging with members of the school community.
School district officials have noted she was quickly barred from school district property. They’ve said they’re evaluating how identifying documents are reviewed, NJ.com reported.
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