A Massachusetts social worker has been accused of assuming the identity of a child in state custody at three schools in Boston.
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Last week, 32-year-old Shelby Hewitt pleaded not guilty to nine indictments at Suffolk Superior Court after it was revealed how she assumed the identity of a real child who was in the custody of the state. She faces three counts of forgery, two counts of forgery at common law, one count of identity fraud, one count of larceny over $1200, one count of uttering, and one count of making false claims to her employer. Prosecutors stated that Hewitt allegedly used information she gained from working for the Department of Children and Families to plan a scheme to trick the Boston Public School system into thinking she was a child as young as 13.
She also used the domain @masstate.us to create two fake employees from the agency with fake contact information in December 2021. Hewitt reportedly used the child’s identity and the fake employees’ information to enroll herself into the Walden Behavioral Treatment Center for an eating disorder and three different public schools, as reported by TOO FAB. She continued the alleged scheme while earning $54,000 yearly from the state.
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“The defendant created multiple names and dates of birth for herself to propagate this intricate but false narrative of being an extremely traumatized child with significant special educational needs and emotional needs,” said Assistant Suffolk District Attorney Ashley Polin
One student said they assumed Hewitt was 16 or 17 and stated she was very smart during class.
“I thought that she was 16, 17 – at least [that’s] what she told me – and she was super smart; whenever we needed help with math, she would help us during math class.’” said Burke student Janelle Lamons, to the Boston Globe
Hewitt is ordered to stay away from the child, schools, and children. Currently, she was released on a $5,000 cash bail.
