The 32-year-old former Department of Children and Families social employee who posed as a pupil at three BPS excessive faculties is going through felony expenses, in keeping with a felony criticism.
The expenses come simply over per week after BPS Superintendent Mary Skipper knowledgeable households at Burke, Brighton and English excessive faculties that an grownup had fraudulently enrolled within the faculties over the 2022-23 college yr and was being investigated by police.
The police’s felony criticism, filed in West Roxbury District Court on Tuesday, recognized the lady as Jamaica Plain-resident Shelby Hewitt and listed felony expenses together with forgery, id theft and others in relation to the BPS fraud. Police requested a warrant for her arrest within the doc.
Hewitt — utilizing the alias “Ellie” — was discovered on June 14 when a person posing as her “foster father” introduced she can be leaving English High School lower than per week after she transferred there, sending up pink flags for college directors.
A employees member regarded into and located an error in her enrollment paperwork, then found a listed social employee didn’t exist and notified police, the incident report said.
Initial proof confirmed Hewitt, together with John Smith and Rebecca Bernat, two 48-year-old adults residing along with her and posing as her “foster parents,” pulled off what Skipper known as an “extremely sophisticated fraud.”
It will not be clear what, if any, expenses might be introduced towards Smith and Bernat.
Authorities additionally confirmed that Hewitt had labored as a social employee for DCF till February 2023.
Though police have investigated the state of affairs from a human trafficking angle, Mayor Wu mentioned on WGBH Sunday, there was no proof but that Hewitt harmed college students on the faculties.
Investigators with the BPD Human Trafficking, BPD Internet Crimes Against Children and State Police High-Rick Victims models, executed a search warrant for Hewitt’s house final week, a BPD report said.
The search discovered “falsely made, altered, or forged” paperwork from the Lowell Juvenile Court and DCF in Hewitt’s bed room, in keeping with the report.
The courtroom paperwork used the title of an individual recognized via the Lowell Juvenile Court employees, who mentioned she didn’t know Hewitt and didn’t give her permission to make use of her id, the police report mentioned.
Hewitt, the doc states, used false premises to attend BPS faculties from Sept. 7, 2022, to June 14, 2023.
The warrant was requested, the criticism reads, “because prosecutor represents that accused may not appear unless arrested.”
The courtroom paperwork didn’t point out any potential motives into Hewitt’s actions.
Source: www.bostonherald.com”