32-year-old woman faces charges after allegedly posing as high school student

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Shelby Hewitt, the woman accused of posing as a Boston public high school student while in her 30s, pleaded guilty to some charges against her Tuesday. Hewitt's jury trial was scheduled to begin Monday.

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Hewitt is accused of enrolling herself in multiple Boston public high schools during the 2022-2023 school year while using false names and dates of birth to present herself as a teenager. She was 32 years old at the time.

Prosecutors said Hewitt attended classes at Boston Public Schools campuses, including Jeremiah E. Burke High School, Brighton High School and English High School, at times claiming to be as young as 13 years old. Authorities allege she used forged documents and fabricated personal histories to gain enrollment. During this time, she allegedly collected a salary of $54,000 from her job as a social worker at the Department of Children and Families.

She was indicted in 2023. Tuesday she pleaded guilty to one count of forgery, one count of identity fraud, and one count of unlawful conduct as a public employee. Four other charges against her were dismissed in exchange for the guilty plea. The judge sentenced her to 4 years probation, with special conditions including continued mental health treatment and restitution of $9,114.95.

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