Man duped Dallas High Schools, pretended to be 17 so he could play basketball

DALLAS (AP) – Police say a 25-year-old man duped two Dallas high schools for nine months by posing as a 17-year-old student and Hurricane Harvey evacuee in order to play basketball.

Court records show Sidney Bouvier Gilstrap-Portley faces a charge of tampering with government records. He was arrested Friday.

Dallas school district officials say he first enrolled at Skyline High School and later moved to Hillcrest High School, where he joined the basketball team.

District spokeswoman Robyn Harris says the man took advantage of schools opening their doors to students displaced by the hurricane. She says district officials believe Gilstrap-Portley’s primary motivation was to play basketball.

Superintendent Michael Hinojosa apologized to parents. He says the district will work to prevent similar situations in the future.

An attorney wasn’t listed for Gilstrap-Portley in online case records as of Wednesday.

(Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)