Kansas Woman Impersonated A School Teen And Went Unnoticed For Weeks Before Suspicion Followed

A 28-year-old woman was recently found guilty by the Bronx Criminal Court after she posed as a teenager and infiltrated a NYC school. For weeks, she allegedly pretended to be a regular schoolgirl, as her seemingly childish face gave way to her facade.

However, it was not long before authorities and staff were raised on suspicion. The woman was accused of wrongful impersonation and child endangerment after she openly mingled with the other minor students. She was arrested immediately from the school premises. And now, a report has revealed her unusual backstory.

Kacy Claassen was arrested on April 27 on the campus of Westchester Square Academy in New York City. She was accused of infiltrating the school by posing as an enrolled student. Authorities said she gained access through one of the Department of Education’s Family Welcome Centers. Claassen was allegedly able to mislead others about her true identity in part because of her youthful appearance.

At the time of her arrest, she claimed to be fleeing an abusive marriage. Claassen also said she had previously struggled with an eating disorder, which she said led to a stay in a psychiatric ward. Despite the criminal charges, she has pleaded not guilty.

A Daily Mail report examined the suspect’s background and stated that she is the mother of a daughter. The report said Claassen was adopted by devout Christian parents and later claimed on social media that they forced her out of the family home in 2021 after learning she was pregnant by a secret boyfriend. That claim has not been independently confirmed.

Claassen married a man named Kenneth Ault in May 2021, but the marriage ended in divorce within two years. She also lost custody of her daughter in 2023, after which the child was placed in the care of her parents.

Following the divorce, Claassen told a local Kansas newspaper that she was grateful for receiving a second chance through a women’s housing agency. She later worked multiple jobs, bought a used car and hoped to regain custody of her daughter.

Things changed suddenly after 2025 when she quit her existing job and traveled to North Carolina, from where she took a bus to NYC. It was then that she took admission at the Westchester Square Academy. She posed as a 16-year-old girl named Shamara Rashad. Claassen produced fake documents which matched her alibi at the school.

While the real motive behind her actions wasn’t clear, she continued to play pretend in the new setting. Claassen behaved as a regular school kid, attending classes and interacting with teachers.

Suspicion stemmed when staff and fellow students discovered her Facebook account. They were shocked to find that it belonged to an adult woman instead of a school teenager. It was then that the administrators contacted the police, and Claassen was arrested from the premises of the school.

Meanwhile, the school authorities assured the shocked students and staff that a deeper investigation of the case would continue even after Claassen’s arrest. Prosecutors charged her with endangering the welfare of a child, criminal impersonation, possession of a forged instrument and criminal trespassing. She was arraigned in court on the same day as her arrest. Claassen would now be back in the court on June 15 for a hearing.