Get Premium
Dark mode theme is available exclusively for premium users. Learn more about the benefits of subscribing.
No fees, cancel anytime.
Dark Mode 
No fees, cancel anytime 
6
33YO Woman Arrested For Pretending To Be High School Student For A Year To Heal Her Past Traumas
A 33-year-old woman allegedly masqueraded as a high school student for more than a year.
Shelby Hewitt, from Canton, Massachusetts, managed to slip under the radar at multiple schools.
She was accused of using false identification and fake paperwork to enroll at not one but three different high schools: Jeremiah E. Burke High, Brighton High, and English High in Boston.
Highlights
- 33-year-old Shelby Hewitt posed as a high school student for over a year in Massachusetts.
- She faced nine charges, including identity fraud and forgery.
- The woman was accused of using aliases and faking documents to enroll in three different schools.
- Her lawyer claimed she has a history of mental health issues.
RELATED:
A 33-year-old woman, Shelby Hewitt, allegedly spent over a year posing as a teenager in three different high schools in Massachusetts
Image credits: Suzanne Kreiter/The Boston Globe via Getty Images
Despite being in her 30s, Shelby’s elaborate ruse fooled students, faculty, and even her close friends.
“I’m still waiting for answers from BPS because I feel like they’re not doing anything about the situation, and I also just feel like they’re playing games,” Janell Lamons, a teenage student who went to school with the accused, told NBC10 Boston.
Her mother, Robin Williams, said: “We are the victims, not her. She’s the person who pretended to be a student 16, 13 years old sitting among our children.”
The accused con artist allegedly used multiple aliases to enroll in the schools. She became a teenage “Daniella” at Jeremiah E. Burke High and crafted an elaborate backstory of being a sex trafficking victim.
Using false identification and fake paperwork, the woman enrolled at Jeremiah E. Burke High, Brighton High, and English High using multiple aliases
Image credits: Diana / Pexels (Representational image)
Image credits: Elizabethaferry / Pixabay (Representational image)
While the real Shelby was a highly educated social worker, “Daniella” was a teen foster kid who couldn’t read or write.
“We did become friends and we exchange phone numbers and talked on the phone sometimes,” said Janell.
“Sometimes she wouldn’t answer because she claims she was hanging out with her sisters,” she added.
Despite pretending to be a student, Shelby led a double life—attending school, joining the basketball team, getting braces, while also socializing with adult friends
32 year old Boston social worker, Shelby Hewitt, poses as a traumatized 13 y.o to get into 3 high schools pic.twitter.com/oXvWocYd9w
— Lord Help Us All (@nomorehaters02) December 19, 2023
“When I found out about the charges and stuff I was definitely shocked because I wouldn’t expect none of this to happen, because all my friends and stuff for [sic] the same age and everything,” she continued.
Shelby’s charade as a high school student also included getting braces and joining the school basketball team. But despite her teen persona, she still managed to maintain a life outside school, spending time with her adult friends, and even traveling to Colorado on vacation with them.
One friend, Andria, revealed that Shelby was a maid of honor at her 2022 wedding. Andria had even accompanied the alleged imposter to visit a psychic when the latter was grieving her mother’s death.
“When I found out about the charges and stuff I was definitely shocked,” said a teenage student who became friends with the alleged con artist
According to prosecutors, Shelby Hewitt pretended to be a traumatized child and fooled the Boston school district into allowing her to enroll in three different public high school.
Hewitt appeared in Suffolk Superior Court on Tuesday as she faces nine charges: three counts… pic.twitter.com/GNoXQ5TXio
— News News News (@NewsNew97351204) December 13, 2023
Andria revealed that Shelby called her after her 2023 arrest and explained that she had been reliving her youth after a conversation with a psychic. She claimed that in order to heal from her past, the psychic asked her to revisit her childhood.
Following her arrest, Shelby was charged with three counts of forgery, two counts of forgery at common law, one count of uttering, one count of identity fraud, one count of larceny over $1,200, and one count of making false claims to her employer.
As court proceedings continue, Shelby is currently undergoing psychiatric evaluation because her lawyer Timothy Flaherty maintained that she has a history of mental illness.
Lawyer Timothy Flaherty said Shelby “has severe mental health challenges” that she has been dealing with on a “life-long basis”
Boston social worker, 32, accused of posing as ‘traumatized child as young as 13’ at high schools is seen in court as new details about how she carried out elaborate scheme emerge
Shelby Hewitt, 32, who allegedly posed as a high school student at three different Boston… pic.twitter.com/qmmBjU72VM
— News News News (@NewsNew97351204) December 13, 2023
“This is a young lady that has severe mental health challenges and she has been dealing with it on a life-long basis, it is well documented and she is continuing to deal with it,” Timothy said after a hearing last year.
“I think the bigger question is how, and what does that say about the safeguards in place,” he added.
“The why, you know, will be answered,” he continued, “but again, as I mentioned in court, this is a young lady that has severe mental health challenges…”
Poll Question
Thanks! Check out the results:
Newsletter
Subscribe to Access
Exclusive Polls
By entering your email and clicking Subscribe, you're agreeing to let us send you customized marketing messages about us and our advertising partners. You are also agreeing to our Privacy Policy.
Thank you! You've successfully subscribed to newsletters!
What do you think ?
FluffyDreg 1 month ago
While the forgery and fake ID's and other deceit is a crime... what exactly is the problem? Was she trying to date some of the high schoolers? Or did she just want to relive being a kid? Could someone explain how that victimizes the other kids? Was she doing anything mean to them? Manipulating them?
David Andrews 1 month ago
Would you be fine if a person in their 30s befriended your young teenage child and started hanging around with them? Think of all the normal things a teenager does at that age, hanging out with friends , sleepovers, hanging out with boys. Even if she somehow managed to spend any time with the other students outside of school, she is still in gym and a sports team, so will be in the changing rooms with these girls. Regardless of the motive would you not find it creepy as a teenager to find out that the person you thought was your friend and spent your time with was actually 20 years older than you, and was lying to hang out with kids?
Load More Replies... FluffyDreg 1 month ago
While the forgery and fake ID's and other deceit is a crime... what exactly is the problem? Was she trying to date some of the high schoolers? Or did she just want to relive being a kid? Could someone explain how that victimizes the other kids? Was she doing anything mean to them? Manipulating them?
David Andrews 1 month ago
Would you be fine if a person in their 30s befriended your young teenage child and started hanging around with them? Think of all the normal things a teenager does at that age, hanging out with friends , sleepovers, hanging out with boys. Even if she somehow managed to spend any time with the other students outside of school, she is still in gym and a sports team, so will be in the changing rooms with these girls. Regardless of the motive would you not find it creepy as a teenager to find out that the person you thought was your friend and spent your time with was actually 20 years older than you, and was lying to hang out with kids?
Load More Replies... You May Like Teen, 16, Jailed For 12 Years For Attempted Homicide Of 14-Year-Old Boy, Attacked By Mistake Woman’s “Pulverized” Body Found In Condo, Victim's Parents Accuse Husband Of "Abuse And Terror" “I Gave It Back!”: Woman Provides Crazy Excuse For Why She Snatched Little Boy From His Yard
Karina Babenok
Binitha Jacob
Binitha Jacob
Related on Bored Panda
18
6