A Texas woman who dressed up as her teenage daughter before attending her middle school for the day has been found guilty of trespassing.
Casey Garcia, 33, was sentenced to six months probation in El Paso County Criminal Court.
She faces a suspended $700 fine and must complete 100 hours of community service. The charges stem from a video uploaded to YouTube in June 2021.
It showed Garcia tanning her skin and dyeing her hair to resemble her then-13-year-old daughter before attending Ann M. Garcia-Enriquez Middle School for a day.
“Do I look like a seventh grader?” she asked the camera before entering. ‘NO? Cool, great.’
Casey Garcia, 33, was sentenced to six months probation after posing as her daughter for a day at a middle school
In a viral video uploaded to YouTube, Garcia was seen walking the halls of Ann M. Garcia-Enriquez Middle School and attending her daughter’s class
The mother explained in a subsequent video that she was trying to bring attention to the issue of student safety, particularly in light of school shootings
The video showed her posing in the bathroom mirror with a black and white backpack, eating lunch in the cafeteria and attending her daughter’s classes.
At one point, a teacher was heard calling Garcia by her daughter’s name, “Julie.”
When Garcia faced backlash, she disabled comments on the video and filmed a response in which she explained that she wanted to make a statement about student safety, particularly when it came to school shootings.
“We need better security in our schools, that’s what I’ve tried to prove, and I don’t mean to be harsh, but I kind of feel like I’ve proven it,” Garcia said.
El Paso County Sheriff’s Office deputies arrested the 33-year-old on June 4 at her home in San Elizario. She spent the day in jail and was released on $7,808 bail.
According to an affidavit, Garcia began recording outside of school around 8:45 a.m. before signing in with her daughter’s name and school ID number.
As Garcia entered a senior class, Garcia gave her daughter’s name when asked to identify herself, the affidavit said.
When the mother asked for help with topics already covered in class, the teacher confronted her again.
Garcia admitted to being the mother of a student and participating in a “social experiment,” the affidavit said.
According to an affidavit, Garcia began recording outside of school (pictured) before signing in with her daughter’s name and school ID number
At the beginning of the video, she was seen applying heavy makeup and styling her hair to look more like her then 13-year-old daughter
Garcia, pictured with her daughter Julie (left), also faces a $700 fine on probation and must complete 100 hours of community service
The teacher asked Garcia to visit the principal’s office. Garcia obeyed and tried to explain her goal to the principal before leaving the school.
In addition to trespassing, she was also charged with tampering with government records for allegedly forging her daughter’s signature. However, the El Paso County District Attorney’s Office dropped the charges.
Garcia admitted to entering the school but pleaded not guilty to trespassing. She requested a jury trial.
Following her sentencing, Theresa Caballero, an attorney representing Garcia, told The Washington Post that she was glad her client avoided prison time.
But Caballero also expressed her displeasure with the conviction, saying, “Obviously, trespassing on school property – and no one was harmed as a result – is less harmful than the harm you’re trying to avoid, which is a school shooting.”
Shortly after Garcia’s arrest, Jeannie Mesa-Chavez, superintendent of the San Elizario Independent School District, issued a statement.
“Although there was a security breach by a person associated with the school as a parent, we want to assure you that our security measures are being reviewed and evaluated,” she said.
Garcia also filmed the moment of her arrest in a video that has since garnered hundreds of thousands of views.
“I’m just letting you know I’m recording,” she told officers as she left her home, before asking an officer if he had “seen the video.”
“I pretended to be a seventh grader and it went viral and now the principal is mad,” Garcia said. “I said I wouldn’t return to school grounds, so… he found out.”
Then she turned to the camera and grinned.
“He destroyed his ego – well, he wants to destroy mine. “That’s fine.”