A 22-year-old man was assaulted in St. Paul days after it was learned that he had posed as a student at White Bear Lake Area High School, authorities said.
St. Paul police spokesperson Alyssa Arcand said the assault happened sometime between Oct. 3 and Oct. 4 on the 1900 block of Maryland Avenue E. The man was assaulted by numerous people and apparently knew them, Arcand added.
According to a news release, St. Paul police were not called at the time of the assault and investigators were working to find out what happened and who was involved. Arcand said no arrests had been made as of Saturday and that no further information was available.
After Principal Russell Reetz told school families about the man’s fraudulent enrollment, state Rep. Elliott Engen, R-Lino Lakes, called on White Bear Lake school district Superintendent Wayne Kazmierczak to resign. Kazmierczak said the man was listed as a homeless unaccompanied youth and had presented a birth certificate from another country showing he was eligible for high school enrollment.
Officials told the Minnesota Star Tribune that the man attended Forest Lake Area High School until 2023, but they were unaware of any district concerns that he had enrolled there improperly.
“Throughout the enrollment process, there was no reason to believe the official birth certificate was fraudulent,” Kazmierczak said at the time. “The provided birth certificate included authentic watermarking and official stamps/seals. There was no indication that the document was anything less than authentic.”
Police announced an investigation into unlawful contact between the man and minors on Oct. 1, soon after a teen’s mother launched a restraining order against the man. A Washington County search warrant affidavit revealed further allegations against the 22-year-old, including receiving nude photos and “possible sexual assault incidents.”
The Star Tribune is not reporting the man’s identity because he has yet to be charged with a crime related to his time at the school.
