Shelby Hewitt Faces New Charges for Posing as Boston Student
- Shelby Hewitt, a 32-year-old woman, posed as a teenage foster child and enrolled in several Boston schools. She was indicted on nine charges, including five felony forgery counts, identity fraud, larceny over $1,200, and public employee standards of conduct violation. During this time, she collected a $54,000 salary from her job as a social worker at the Department of Children and Families.
- Hewitt allegedly created a false narrative of being a traumatized child with special needs, creating multiple names and dates of birth for herself. She enrolled at three Boston schools, including English High School in Jamaica Plain and Burke High School in Dorchester, claiming to be as young as 13. Her defense attorney claimed she was never a danger to anyone and has a lifelong history of mental health challenges.
- She pleaded not guilty and was released on $5,000 bail with conditions including staying away from schools and persons younger than 18. She was originally arraigned in July after Boston Public Schools officials alerted police about their concerns. She will return to court on Feb. 2, and her trial is scheduled for next fall.
Woman Accused of Posing as Boston Public Schools Student Faces New Charges
Shelby Hewitt, who allegedly posed as a Boston Public Schools student while in her 30s, was in court Tuesday for several new charges. Last year, she posed as a teenage foster child and enrolled in multiple Boston schools, according to investigators.
A Suffolk County grand jury indicted her on nine new charges last month, including five felony forgery counts, identity fraud, larceny over $1,200, and public employee standards of conduct violation. The prosecutor, Ashley Polin, said that Hewitt created a false narrative of being a traumatized child with special needs and used multiple names and dates of birth.
During this period, Hewitt allegedly collected a $54,000 salary from her job as a social worker at the Department of Children and Families. She enrolled at three Boston schools, including English High School in Jamaica Plain and Burke High School in Dorchester, claiming to be as young as 13.
Her defense attorney, Timothy Flaherty, described Hewitt as a person with a lifetime of mental health challenges, who poses no threat. Hewitt pleaded not guilty and was released on $5,000 bail, with conditions including staying away from schools and anyone under 18 years old.
Hewitt was first arraigned in July in West Roxbury District Court after officials from Boston Public Schools alerted police about her in June. School officials found it odd when a man came to English High School to withdraw his ‘daughter’ from school due to alleged bullying, especially since the student had enrolled less than a week earlier.
Hewitt had been a social worker for the state Department of Children and Families intermittently from 2016 to February 2023. She attended Jeremiah E. Burke High School, Brighton High School and English High School during the 2022-23 school year. Hewitt will return to court on Feb. 2, and her trial is scheduled for next fall.
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