BOSTON — Her birth preceded Bill Clinton’s presidency, the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and inventions such as the iPhone and Wi-Fi. But somehow, prosecutors say, 32-year-old Shelby Hewitt managed to pass as a teenage student at three different Boston Public Schools during the 2022-2023 academic year: Burke High, Brighton High, and English High.
A Suffolk County grand jury indicted Hewitt on nine counts last month — from forgery to fraud to larceny. Tuesday, she appeared in court, pleading not guilty to every charge.
“This is clearly a mental health case,” said Hewitt’s attorney, Timothy Flaherty. “She’s a person who’s had a lifelong history of mental health challenges. She’s in treatment and she’s working towards making herself a better person.”
Flaherty questioned whether any criminal charges are warranted — given Hewitt’s mental health history. And he suggested the real story is how Boston Public Schools could have allowed Hewitt to enroll at all.
“I can certainly understand the outrage the parents would feel,” Flaherty said. “I certainly would feel the same as a parent if my child was in a school that wasn’t being properly supervised.”
Boston Public Schools had no comment on Hewitt’s arraignment, nor did it offer any details on how such a thing will be prevented in the future.
As to how Hewitt pulled off the transformation into a teenager — prosecutors say it started with the purchase of a web domain at the end of 2021, with an address that could be mistaken for an official state site. Using that site, @massstate.us, it’s alleged that Hewitt concocted two fake identities to serve as her DCF (Department of Child and Family Services) counselors. She named them “Michael Kornetsky” and “Michelle Delfi.”
“Kornetsky” and “Delfi” sent numerous e-mails under the guise of DCF counselors, to paint Hewitt as a traumatized teen in need of educational and emotional support. Prosecutors say that narrative was false.
“Posing behind the keyboard as one of these DCF workers, the defendant had herself admitted as a child patient at the Walden Behavioral Treatment Center and enrolled herself in the Boston Public Schools,” prosecutor Ashley Polin said in court Tuesday.
The first school that accepted her was Jeremiah Burke High. Hewitt enrolled there in the fall of 2022, posing as a 16-year-old freshman. Janelle Lamons, also a Burke freshman, considered her a friend.
“We did become friends and we exchanged phone numbers and we would talk on the phone sometimes,” Lamons said. “When I found out about the charges I was definitely in shock.”
Lamons said she and Hewitt were in the same math and history classes.
“She just kind of seemed normal,” she said. “Nice, sweet, quiet.”
However, Lamons now feels betrayed — and says other students are so angry they want to beat Hewitt up.
Lamons’ mother, Robin Williams, said she is more angry at Boston Public Schools than Hewitt. She said she never received a letter that was sent out about the incident and BPS has been uncommunicative about steps it is taking or took, to prevent such an incident from happening again.
“To hear that this grown woman, who crosses three schools within a year, was sitting in the classroom with my daughter and a bunch of other kids... that’s very scary,” Williams said. “I’d like to know why did she do it and what is she getting out of this?”
Even more baffling, said Williams, is that Hewitt is a college-educated social worker. She has degrees from Wheelock College and UMass Boston and was once employed by the Department of Child and Family Services (DCF).
“You’re supposed to be protecting children,” Williams said. “Why are you doing this, what are you getting out of it?”
Flaherty said one thing Hewitt was not getting out of it was anything nefarious.
“The rumors surrounding violence against children or anything related to human trafficking are unfounded,” he said. “Ms. Hewitt’s not a danger.. she’s not a danger to the community. In fact, the only danger she presents is to her own mental health.”
The court imposed bail of $50,000 surety, $5,000 cash. Hewitt met that bail and was released. A trial date is set for next September.
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