Charity Johnson reportedly lied about her age when she enrolled at New Life Christian School in Texas.
She claimed her name was Charite Stevens and that her birthday was on the 24 November, 1997.
According to school officials, she told teachers she had been home-schooled and therefore had no paperwork or transcripts.
Charite’s true identity was uncovered after a woman who took her in became suspicious.
Tamica Lincoln believed Charite to be an orphan who had escaped from an abusive household.
She told local news: ‘I sympathised with her, and invited her into my home.’
‘I took her in as a child, did her hair, got her clothes and shoes,’ she added.
Tamica Lincoln became ‘Charite’s’ guardian, but contacted police when she suspected that she was lying about who she was.
Police in Texas arrested her and she has now been charged with providing false identification and failure to identify herself.
Understandably, parents at New Life Christian School became worried after hearing that an adult had been posing as a student.
Letters have been sent home to student’s parents making them fully aware of the circumstances surrounding the situation.