32-year-old woman accused of posing as high school student facing new charges

BOSTON (WLNE) — A  32-year-old woman accused of posing as a student in the Boston Public School system last year appeared in court Tuesday facing new charges.

According to prosecutors, Shelby Hewitt was 32 when she posed as a teenage foster child and enrolled in several Boston schools.

Last month, a grand jury indicted Hewitt on nine new charges including five felony forgery counts as well as identify fraud and larceny over $1,200 and public employee standards of conduct violation.

The prosecution said Tuesday that Hewitt created a fake story of being a traumatized child with special needs.

“She created multiple names and dates of birth for herself to propagate this intricate false narrative of being an extremely traumatized child with significant special education needs,” said prosecutor Ashley Polin.

During that time, she allegedly collected a salary of $54,000 from her job as a social worker at the Department of Children and Families.

Court documents detail how Hewitt enrolled at the three schools, including English High School in Jamaica Plain and Burke High School in Dorchester, claiming to be as young as 13.

Hewitt defense attorney said she was never a threat to anyone while enrolled at the school.

“She’s a person who’s had a lifelong history of mental health challenges, in treatment and working towards making herself a better person,” her defense said Tuesday.

Hewitt pleaded not guilty and was released on $5,000 bail with conditions including staying away from schools and people under the age of 18.