After withdrawing from a possible plea agreement that would have settled her case on Tuesday, a former social worker from Massachusetts who is accused of impersonating a kid in Boston Public Schools faces a February trial date.
Prosecutors claim that 34-year-old Shelby Hewitt used aliases to enroll in three Boston schools during the 2022–2023 school year while posing as a teenager. Hewitt has entered a not guilty plea to fraud and forgery charges.
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Prosecutors claimed in a statement of facts presented in court that the defendant made up several names and dates of birth for herself and spread a complex but untrue story of a severely traumatized youngster with serious special educational and emotional requirements.
Hewitt has been free on bond since his initial charges in July 2023.
According to court documents, Hewitt’s hearing on Tuesday was preceded by the possibility of a change of plea. Judge Debra A. Squires-Lee stated that the court anticipated reaching a settlement to conclude the case with a term of probation, mental health treatment, and restitution, as reported by The Boston Globe.
Hewitt’s lawyer, Timothy Flaherty, reportedly told the Globe that his client would only accept the agreement if the case were continued without a finding, which would mean that if Hewitt does not commit another crime, the charges would eventually be dropped. Prosecutors allegedly stated that they would only agree to a settlement in which Hewitt is found guilty.
According to the Globe, Flaherty told the judge, “I’ll report back immediately if we’re able to come to some resolution.”
Hewitt’s trial is set for February 9, 2026.
Prosecutors claim she went to considerable measures to support her plan, including buying a domain for @masstate.us that is similar to the @state.ma.us that shows up in many state officials’ email addresses and fabricating two social workers for the Department of Children and Families.
When a guy claiming to be Hewitt’s father informed the staff at English High School in Jamaica Plain that he was intending to move her to a new school because of bullying, her purported ruse was discovered in June 2023. A BPS employee examined Hewitt’s documents more closely and found anomalies, including what appeared to be an inaccurate DCF letterhead and the name of a social worker who didn’t exist.
According to the Globe, Flaherty has previously stated that Hewitt has a long and well-documented history of mental health issues, including dissociative identity disorder. According to the Cleveland Clinic, DID, formerly known as multiple personality disorder, is a mental illness in which a person’s conduct is controlled by two or more distinct personalities at various times.
On September 30, Hewitt is expected to appear in court for a motions filing.
Abby Patkin covers a wide range of topics as a general assignment news reporter, including crime, public transportation, health, and everything in between. She has been reporting on the murder case of Karen Read.
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