GREEN BAY, Wis. – A 33-year-old woman is charged with stealing her daughter’s identity to attend high school and join the cheerleading team.

Wendy Brown, of Green Bay, faces a felony identity theft charge after enrolling in Ashwaubenon High School as her 15-year-old daughter, who lives in Nevada with Brown’s mother.

“The defendant stated she wanted to get her high school degree and be a cheerleader because she had no childhood and was trying to regain a part of her life she missed,” according to the complaint.

She allegedly attended cheerleading practices before school started, received a cheerleader’s locker and attended a pool party at the cheerleading coach’s house.

A high school employee, Kim Demeny, told authorities that the woman, posing at the teen, seemed very timid, told her she was not good in math and even cried when she talked about moving from Pahrump Valley High School in Pahrump, Nev. Although the woman looked older than a student, Demeny said she believed the woman’s demeanor was consistent with that of a high school girl.

A school liaison officer started investigating Monday after Brown only showed up for the first day of classes last week, the complaint said.

Assistant Principal Dirk Ribbins later learned Brown’s daughter was enrolled at Pahrump Valley High School. Ribbins also spoke with Brown’s mother who told him she had custody of the girl. She also said Brown has a history of identity theft crimes, the complaint said.

The complaint also said the $134.50 check Brown gave to the cheerleading coach for her uniform bounced.

Brown made her first court appearance Friday by video-conference. The judge set bond at $8,000.

If convicted, she could face up to six years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

Pilfered primate freed from jail, returns to Maine store

EAST MACHIAS, Maine – An 8-foot-tall mechanical gorilla is back home at an eastern Maine flea market-style store two weeks after it was stolen and later dumped in a cornfield in Vermont.

A pickup truck carrying the somewhat battered and torn gorilla arrived Saturday afternoon at Sandy’s Sales a day after being picked up at a Vermont police barracks.

Owners Sandy and Lowell Miller were delighted to see the gorilla dubbed “Seemore,” which was stolen from outside their store over Labor Day weekend. But they agreed the gorilla needs some tender loving care for its injuries: a head severed from its body, holes and rips in its face, and a broken arm.

“After people see her battle wounds, we are going to have her have a face lift,” Sandy Miller said. “A new rubber face.”

After the gorilla was stolen from its longtime location outside the store, the owner of the factory where the gorilla was created produced a YouTube video offering a $500 reward for its return.

The thief then appeared in disguise in his own YouTube video, saying he was sorry and jokingly offering to return the beast for $1 million. Seemore then showed up in a cornfield.Maine State Police said last week that Vermont authorities had identified a suspect.