Fake student facing charges

YUMA, Ariz., Nov. 11 (UPI) -- An Arizona man is facing 14 felony charges after allegedly posing as a high school student and having sex with a minor, authorities say.

Anthony M. Avalos, 22, of Yuma, was charged in Yuma Justice Court Monday with 11 counts of sexual conduct with a minor and three counts of forgery, the Yuma Sun reported.

Avalos, four years removed from high school in Florida, is accused of pretending to be a student at two Yuma schools and striking up a relationship with a girl under 18.

Avalos was jailed in lieu of $110,865 bail at least until a preliminary hearing Friday.

Avalos was arrested Nov. 5 with police alleging he fraudulently attending Kofa High School and Vista Alternative School off and on since September 2008, the Sun said. The 22-year-old even played on Kofa High's basketball team last year, sporting jersey No. 52.

Court records indicate Avalos, who was born in El Paso, Texas, and graduated high school in Florida in 2005, admitted he had created a fake birth certificate he used to enroll in school where he hoped to play basketball and get a college scholarship. He also allegedly admitted to having sex with a girl who he knew was under 18 on at least three occasions.

He also allegedly claimed to be a victim of Hurricane Katrina and that required documents to register for school had been destroyed.