Shelby Hewitt, woman accused of posing as Boston Public Schools student, faces new charges
By Gail Waterhouse
Click here for updates on this story
BOSTON (WCVB) — A woman accused of posing as a Boston Public Schools student last year was in court Tuesday to face several new charges.
Shelby Hewitt was 32 years old when she posed as a teenage foster child and enrolled in several Boston schools last year, investigators said.
Last month, a Suffolk County grand jury indicted her on nine new charges, including five felony forgery counts, as well as identity fraud, larceny over $1,200 and public employee standards of conduct violation.
The prosecutor told the court Tuesday that Hewitt created a false narrative of being a traumatized child with special needs. During this time, she allegedly collected a salary of $54,000 from her job as a social worker at Department of Children and Families.
She pleaded not guilty on Tuesday and was being released on $5,000 bail with conditions including staying away from schools and persons younger than 18.
Hewitt was originally arraigned in July in West Roxbury District Court after Boston Public Schools officials alerted police about their concerns in June.
According to the original police report, a man went to English High School and told administrators that he would be withdrawing his daughter because of the bullying she was allegedly receiving.
The police report also stated school officials found the decision odd since the student had enrolled at the school less than a week earlier.
Hewitt worked for the state DCF as a social worker off and on from 2016 to February 2023. She attended Jeremiah E. Burke High School, Brighton High School and English High School at various points in the 2022-23 school year.
Hewitt is expected to go on trial next fall.
Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.