Brazilian woman, 38, accused of years of fraud posing as a child

A 38-year-old woman has been arrested in Brazil and charged in the state of Santa Catarina with fraud and false identity offences after living nearly 16 months with a couple in Joinville. During that time the couple paid her expenses, provided a bedroom decorated with toys and children’s furnishings, and held a party for her purported 12th birthday.

The couple say she first approached them at an evangelical church, introduced herself as "Gabrielle" and claimed to be 18, saying she faced financial and health difficulties. She later allegedly changed her story, saying she was 11, that her father had forced her to take hormones and had sexually abused her, and persuading the family not to enrol her in school or formalise any adoption process on the grounds that her father might find her.

Brazil, Joinville, Santa Catarina

brazil, joinville, santa catarina, fraud, false identity, child impersonation, evangelical church, arrest, adoption, hormones