Iowa crossing guard accused of using stranger’s kids for GoFundMe campaign

WEST DES MOINES, Iowa — A Windsor Heights woman has been accused of using someone else’s kids in order to raise money on GoFundMe.

According to court documents, in November a mother found photographs of her three children, aged 11, 9, and 7, on a woman’s Facebook page who she didn’t know. The account belonged to 48-year-old Sara Rachael Shaw, and court records state that the photos included herself and the three kids at a Can Play event at an elementary school, as well as at a McDonald’s getting ice cream. The mother told West Des Moines Police that she had never given Shaw permission to take her children to any events or to McDonald’s.

As the investigation unfolded, police learned that Shaw wasn’t a volunteer at the Can Play events and event organizers said they were told by Shaw that she had the children because their mother didn’t have a car, court documents state.

Police later learned that Shaw was actually a school crossing guard for a company that services West Des Moines and in her role had “repeated contact with the children when they walked to school,” court documents state.

The children’s mother also found a GoFundMe on Facebook with a photograph of her kids that she never approved of, a criminal complaint states. It was discovered that the fundraiser was started by Shaw and was called “Hep Support Sara’s Efforts to Keep Kids Warm.” The complaint states the fundraiser contained “misleading and false statements” about the mother and children, and had raised about $460.

Shaw was arrested on Wednesday and charged with fourth-degree theft, identity theft under $1,500, and stalking – person under 18 years of age. Shaw remains in the Polk County Jail on a $25,000 cash-only bond. A preliminary hearing has been scheduled for February 3.

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