37-year-old woman pretends to be a teenager and is arrested one year after adoption in SC

A 37-year-old woman was arrested, this Tuesday (2), for pretending to be a 12-year-old teenager, in Joinville, Santa Catarina. The suspect was adopted by a family, with whom she lived for more than a year.

According to the PCSC (Civil Police of Santa Catarina), the woman used the false name "Gabriele" and pretended to be a teenager. The arrest in the act took place at the victims' residence, in the district of Pirabeiraba, where she had lived for around 14 months.

The offender gained the trust of the entire family and, to support the disguise and justify her appearance as an adult, she falsely claimed to have autism and said that her features were the result of the forced use of hormones during childhood.

A 37-year-old woman pretended to be a teenager and was adopted by a family in Joinville, Santa Catarina - Disclosure/PCSC
To reinforce the role of a child, the woman also exhibited infantilized behaviors, such as using bottles, pacifiers and a "smell" to sleep.

According to investigations, this was not the woman's first crime. There are records of identical scams in the states of São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Minas Gerais, Rio Grande do Sul and Goiás.

The suspect confessed to the crime to police authorities during formal interrogation. After the arrest in the act for the crimes of embezzlement and false identity, the suspect was sent to the Joinville Regional Prison, where she will remain at the disposal of the Justice.

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*Under the supervision of Carolina Figueiredo

Source: CNN