| Joshua Gardner |
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Joshua Adam Gardner (born September 4 , 1983 ) received media attention when he misrepresented himself to the students and staff of a Minnesota high school as a fictional fifth Duke Of Cleveland from England. Student journalists became suspicious and began researching Gardner's story. They soon discovered his true identity and his listing in an online Department of Law Enforcement's Sexual Offender/Predator Unit flyer (November 2005) Austin man charged in sex assault , Winona Post (2002) VISITS TO STILLWATER AREA HIGH SCHOOL The 22 year-old Gardner visited Stillwater Area High School in Minnesota three times, telling students he was 17-year-old Caspian James Crichton-Stuart IV, 5th Duke of Cleveland. Using a "spot on" English accent, Gardner reportedly insisted that students, staff and even the principal call him "your grace" and expressed an interest in enrolling at the high school. Gardner also claimed he was 27th in line for the British throne and that he had been with Prince Harry when his father Charles told him his mother Diana had died. Student journalists with the monthly ''Pony Express'' student newspaper became more suspicious when he reportedly misspelled the name of the castle he claimed to live in. They subsequently viewed several Internet sites including the "Earl of Scooby's" MySpace page, in which "Caspian" described himself as British and gave his goal for the year as "to not make the front page of any paper." A call to the British consulate in Chicago revealed that there is no Dukedom of Cleveland (which has been extinct in the Peerage Of The United Kingdom since 1891 ). As part of the deception Gardner posted a fake article about his persona to the online encyclopedia Wikipedia . However, the article was promptly deleted and the student journalists eventually discovered Gardner's true identity through the encyclopedia's deletion debate where he had placed his real name. Nonetheless, for months at least one unofficial Wikipedia mirror site ( NationMaster ) continued to carry the misleading content. "The Abrams Report" interview transcript Students subsequently found that in 2002 he had been convicted of 4th-degree criminal sexual conduct Minnesota statute defining 4th-degree criminal sexual conduct for forced or coercive sex with a 14-year-old girl when he was 18. The students went to their faculty advisor with these discoveries and the school's police liaison officer was informed. On '' story), January 16, 2006. After the charges were originally filed in 2002 Gardner had been released on his own recognizance and was placed on probation following his conviction. . Gardner subsequently apologized during an interview he gave in Jail , saying: "Becoming 'Caspian,' I was given respect...and people...don't look at you in that way that they would look at a sex offender ...I didn't mean to hurt anybody." REFERENCES
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