DALLAS (AP) — A 26-year-old man was sentenced to probation Tuesday after pleading guilty to posing as a 17-year-old student so he could play basketball at a Dallas high school and groping a 14-year-old girl.
Under a deal with Dallas County prosecutors, Sidney Gilstrap-Portley received six years' probation for indecency with a child and record tampering.
Authorities say Gilstrap-Portley claimed to be a Hurricane Harvey evacuee and exploited a Dallas school district policy for disaster victims.
In August 2017, Sidney Gilstrap-Portley enrolled at Skyline High School in Dallas under the fake name Rashun Richardson, claiming to be a... https://t.co/QokQMsEI6Y
— Charles Richards (@Paris_ChasRich) July 24, 2019
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Gilstrap-Portley had played basketball for North Mesquite High School in a Dallas suburb before graduating in 2011. He then played one season at Dallas Christian College.
Dallas school district officials say Gilstrap-Portley posed as 17-year-old Rashun Richardson. He first enrolled at Skyline High School before eventually shifting to Hillcrest High School, where he starred in the Hillcrest Panthers 11-10 season in 2017-18 and was voted a district offensive player of the year by the district's high school coaches.
He also dated the 14-year-old girl while pretending to be a student.
Gilstrap-Portley's cover was blown in May 2018 after one of his former North Mesquite coaches recognized him when he played in a tournament the month before.
Sidney Gilstrap-Portley was a star basketball player for Hillcrest High School. Then it turned out he was 25 years old, not 17 https://t.co/EAko1QVZDr pic.twitter.com/KB8fn3LJq3
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) January 23, 2019
The explosive revelation made national headlines and rated coverage in such publications as Esquire and Sports Illustrated.
In a television interview after Gilstrap-Portley's exposure, his father said his son, who had a fiancée and a young child, wanted to reboot his life.
"He made errors. There was no ill-intent," Sidney Portley told WFAA-TV in Dallas. "We apologize for that happening. It was mis-channeled determination. His passion is basketball. He tried to push 'rewind' in his life."
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