A Texas mother was sentenced to probation this week, after dressing up as her daughter and recording herself at an El Paso middle school in 2021.
According to the El Paso Times, Casey Garcia was sentenced to six months of probation, a $700 probated fine, and 100 hours of community service for criminal trespassing, an El Paso jury decided Wednesday.
In 2021, Garcia posed as her 13-year-old daughter and spent hours attending classes at the school before a teacher noticed she was impersonating the 7th grader. Garcia wore a Marvel hoodie, sneakers, and mask for most of the day before the deception was uncovered.
Casey Garcia’s attorney, Theresa Caballero, told The Washington Post that she was relieved Garcia avoided jail time but disappointed that there was a conviction. Caballero stated that Garcia was trying to spotlight vulnerabilities in school safety policies.
“Clearly, trespassing on school grounds — and nobody was harmed by it — is less harmful than the harm you’re trying to avoid, which is a school shooting,” Caballero said.
Garcia recorded herself at the school, then posted the video on social media, explaining that she was allowed in the school by simply showing her daughter’s school identification. She added that the school seemed more concerned with her having a cell phone than her actual identity.
“The teachers were so preoccupied with the students that were online that they weren’t paying attention to the students that were there physically,” Garcia said in the video. “I bet you anything someone else can do this. This is why I did this — whether you agree with me or not.”
“I think the deal breaker for me was actually walking in and posing as a seventh-grader. I mean, I’m no spring chicken, but it wasn’t hard. And I made it to all seven periods, until the last teacher, she was female, and she said, ‘Julie, can you stay after class?’ And I said absolutely. She looked at me and she (said), ‘You’re not Julie.
“No, I’m not. I took off my mask, I took off my glasses, and I said, ‘No, I’m not Julie. I’m Julie’s mom.”
San Elizario Independent School District superintendent, Jeannie Meza-Chavez, told The Post in 2021 that the district planned to review school safety measures. It’s unclear, what, if any, changes have been made in school security, but Meza-Chavez said Wednesday that “we continue to prioritize the safety and security of our students.”
El Paso County Sheriff’s Office Cmdr. Ryan Urrutia added that when Garcia attended classes, the teachers didn’t know the students’ faces well yet, since they were wearing masks due to the pandemic. He added that Garcia’s actions not only put other students by causing “undue alarm in our community.”
Instead, Urrutia said, Garcia should have taken up her concerns with the school administration.
“We need better security at our schools,” Garcia said in the 2021 video. “This is what I tried to prove. I don’t mean to be curt, but I kind of feel like I proved it.”
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[Feature Photo: Casey Garcia/El Paso County Sheriff’s Office]
