Shelby Hewitt, social worker accused of posing as Boston student, arraigned on new charges
BOSTON – Shelby Hewitt, a 32-year-old woman accused of posing as a Boston high school student during what prosecutors say was an elaborate scheme, appeared in court on Tuesday.
Hewitt is accused of taking advantage of her position as a social worker for the Department of Children and Families to create fake email accounts and a fraudulent persona as a 16-year-old child and then a 13-year-old supposedly in DCF custody.
A Suffolk County grand jury indicted Hewitt last month on nine new charges. The new charges include five felony counts of forgery.
Hewitt was previously out on bail. On Tuesday, she pleaded not guilty to the new charges and was released again on $5,000 bail.
The prosecutor says this was an elaborate scheme to take advantage of her position working for DCF.
Hewitt allegedly used those fake identities to enroll in a behavioral treatment center.
School officials said Hewitt attended Jeremiah E. Burke High School, Brighton High School, and English High School over the course of a year before she was charged in June.
According to court documents, Hewitt even received special education services while in Boston Public Schools.
In reality, she was a woman in her early 30s who had both college and graduate degrees.
Janelle, a 16-year-old Boston student, said Hewitt befriended her last year.
"Yeah, we did become friends and we exchange phone numbers and talked on the phone sometimes. Sometimes she wouldn't answer because she claims she was hanging out with her sisters," Janelle said. "When I found out about the charges and stuff I was definitely shocked because I wouldn't expect none of this to happen, because all my friends and stuff for the same age and everything."
Hewitt did not speak after her court appearance, but her attorney said she has serious mental health issues and is in treatment.
"I can certainly understand the outrage the parents would feel," said Hewitt's attorney, Timothy Flaherty. "I certainly would feel the same as a parent if my child was in a school that wasn't being properly supervised."
He also said he believes the court is wasting its time on a seriously ill woman when the focus should be on how this scheme slipped through the cracks at Boston Public Schools.
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu said student safety is "the most important priority of Boston," adding that she is "glad we haven't encountered any evidence of physical harm of students with this [situation]."
Wu told WBZ there are robust systems in place to keep kids safe, and that it appears Hewitt took advantage of her inside knowledge of the system to gain access to schools. "It is a very serious set of protocols that we have in the district that are followed, and they were followed as soon as a problem was identified," she said.