Shelby Hewitt was 32 years old when she arrived in Boston classrooms as just another teenager.
She worked as a social worker for the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families, but between 2021 and 2023 she enrolled in three Boston high schools. According to prosecutors, she used the identity of a minor in state custody. Court documents say she impersonated a student as young as 13. She also bought a fake email domain and created two nonexistent DCF employees, complete with their own email addresses and phone numbers.
She was arrested in June 2023. The case was headed to trial after she rejected an initial plea deal, but on Tuesday she pleaded guilty to three counts of forgery, one count of identity fraud and one count of making a false statement to an employer. A judge approved the deal: four years of probation, 9.000 dollars in restitution, mental health treatment, and a ban on going near Boston public schools or working as a social worker. Her lawyer had cited a personality disorder and significant emotional trauma.
