Creepy Grown Man Accused of Posing as High Schooler So He Could Play Football | Crime Alert 1PM 10.03.25

A 22-year-old Minnesota Man is accused of posing as a teenager to enroll at White Bear Lake Area High School so he could play football. A California jury clears Uber of liability in the first sexual assault case brought by a passenger against the company, a ruling that could shape thousands of similar lawsuits still pending nationwide. Drew Nelson reports. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Crime Alert hourly update, breaking.

Speaker 2 (00:02):
Crime news Now.

Speaker 1 (00:03):
I'm Drew Nelson, a twenty two year old man and
white bear Lake, Minnesota, is accused of posing as a
teenager to enroll at white bear Lake Area High School
so he could play football. School officials say the man
used fake documents and a false name to enter the
school system. He's now in police custody and banned from
all district property. Principal Russell Reate said the suspect quote
provided fraudulent documents and false identity to enroll, adding that

(00:27):
the district followed its standard process, which is quote as
rigorous as state law allows. Police confirmed the man was
already jailed in Anoka County for violating probation tied to
a twenty twenty three conviction for sending a nude photo
to a fifteen year old girl. He was later transferred
to Washington County Jail. Investigators are now reviewing possible charges

(00:47):
of fraud, forgery, and unlawful contact with miners. I am
still at shock, and I know my peers are in shock.

Speaker 2 (00:53):
When I found out, I was really shocked. I was like,
you've been with all these girls, like talking to them,
having them on Snapchat. And you're twenty two in a
high school. That's just like so disgusting to me.

Speaker 1 (01:03):
Students telling kai the man joined the football team and
posed as a seventeen year old senior.

Speaker 2 (01:08):
So that's like fifty kids on the football team that
you just were showering next to. Miners.

Speaker 1 (01:14):
Parents said they feel betrayed, asking how it was possible
for the man to pose as a boy. State Representative
Elliott Engen, who graduated from White Bear Lake High called
for the superintendent to resign. Quote, so many things have
to go wrong for this to occur. Leadership needs to
be held accountable. Parents should trust that when their kids
go to school, they're going to be safe. Police said

(01:35):
the investigation is ongoing and that the district has been
fully cooperative. More crime and justice news after this, the
California jury clears Uber of liability in the first sexual
assault case brought by a passenger against the company, a

(01:55):
ruling that could shape thousands of similar lawsuits still pending nationwide.
Verdict came Tuesday after a three week civil trial in
San Francisco. The jury found that Uber was negligent in
its safety practices, but decided that the negligence was not
a substantial factor in causing the assault of the plaintiff,
known in court as Jessica C. She sued Uber in
twenty twenty one, claiming that during a twenty sixteen ride

(02:18):
in San Jose, her driver pulled onto a side road,
restrained her, groped her, and tried to remove her clothes.
She said she feared that she would be raped or killed.
Her attorneys sought as much as one point two million
dollars in damages for each year of her life affected
by the trauma. This is the first so called Bellweather
case among more than five hundred similar lawsuits in California
and another twenty five hundred in federal court. The result

(02:41):
is expected to guide settlement talks in the remaining cases.
Uber argued it was not responsible for the criminal actions
of its drivers, and said the accused driver had passed
a background check and had no prior serious complaints. Company
spokesman Matt Coleman said quote Uber has worked for years
to raise the bar on safety and will continue to
do so in the years ahead. Jessica's lawyers said Uber

(03:02):
ignored known dangers and failed to take basic safety steps,
such as pairing women writers with women drivers or requiring
in car video recording. They accused Uber of hiding the
true number of sexual assaults on its platform. The jury
forman Daniel Lau said after the verdict that the panel
believed Uber's early leadership quote could have done more back

(03:23):
in the early days of Uber, rather than just focusing
on growth. The ruling marks an early legal win for
Uber as it faces renewed scrutiny over passenger safety. Its
most recent US safety report showed a forty four percent
drop in serious sexual assault reports since twenty eighteen, but
they documented twenty seven hundred seventeen incidents between twenty twenty

(03:43):
one and twenty twenty two. Critics say that despite new
safety features and reforms, the companies risk to writers remained systemic.
Fourteen years after her disappearance, police in Kansas City, Missouri,
continued to search for Lisa and a Irwin, the ten
month old baby who vanished from her crib on the
day in twenty eleven and became known nationwide as Baby Lisa.

(04:04):
Lisa was last seen in her home on Northwister Avenue.
Her mother, Deborah Bradley, said she put her to bed
wearing a purple outfit with kittens on it. Lisa's father,
Jeremy Irwin, returned home around four am after working a
late shift and found the girl missing. Several lights were on,
a window was open, the front door was unlocked, and
three cell phones were gone. Police and FBI agents launched

(04:24):
a massive search across the neighborhood, but no trace of
the baby was ever found. In the days that followed,
investigators questioned both parents. Bradley admitted she had been drinking
that night and said she could not remember whether she
had checked on Lisa that evening. A cadaver dog later
detected the scent of a deceased person near her bed.
Witnesses told police they saw a man walking down a
nearby road at four am carrying a baby wearing only

(04:47):
a diaper. A search of the area and interviews with
possible suspects led nowhere. Lisa's parents maintained their innocence and
say they believe someone broke into their home and abducted
the little girl. She's white, with blonde hair, blue eyes,
and a birthmark on her right leg. She'd be fourteen today.
Anyone with information should contact Kansas City Police at eight
one six four seven four eighty four, seventy seven There

(05:08):
is a one hundred thousand dollars reward for the latest
crime and justice news. Follow Crime Alert's hourly update on
your favorite podcast app. Put this crime Alert. I'm Drew Nelson.