handcuffs
Photo of a pair of handcuffs Reuters/File

A US high school student has been arrested due to the fact that he isn’t actually a teenager, but an adult man from Ukraine. Artur Samarin posed as Asher Potts, an 18-year-old honours student at Harrisburg High School in Pennsylvania, US.

Samarin, a 23-year-old Ukrainian immigrant, was arrested and charged with identity theft and tampering with public records on Tuesday. He claimed to be an active student who was with the student advisory group and a member of the school’s ROTC and Naval Sea Cadet program.

He was such a revered student that he even had his picture taken with a local politician when he received an award in 2014. Rep. Patty Kim added the hashtags “#goingplaces #proud” in the photo.

According to the Associated Press, he had a driver’s licence under his false name. The police believe that he invented his identity and did not steal it from anyone.

It is not clear how he was found out, but Sgt. Terry Wealand said that the police received a tip about the Ukrainian national about two months ago. It is believed he has been in the US for four years, coming to the country under his real name on a temporary visa for a short stay.

Wealand said there must be people who helped him create or maintain his fake identity. And if there were, they would be held accountable as well.

Those who knew Samarin were shocked by the revelation. Marcel McCaskill, who was selected with Samarin to participate in a maths and science program at Penn State, said Samarin was “the perfect role model.” He told AP he was a “very respectable guy.”

Some kids in the program would make fun of Samarin’s accent, joking that he was a Russian spy. However, McCaskill reiterated that “nothing was wrong with him from my perspective.”

Harrisburg School District spokesperson Kirsten Keys told ABC News the school is treating Samarin’s arrest as a serious matter. District officials are also cooperating with the police.

Samarin remained in the Dauphin County jail on Thursday.

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