Grown woman jailed for posing as child and having family look after her
A woman who allegedly pretended to be a child in a ploy to trick a couple into taking care of her, has been sentenced as her past came to light.
Amanda Maria Souza de Oliveira allegedly scammed a Brazilian family into believing she was just 12 years old through a series of deceptive tactics, claimed prosecutors in court, despite her being 38.
She was charged with fraud and false identity on 2 June after she had lived with the couple for 14 months, where she allegedly told the pair she had been sexually abused as a child, was neglected by her mother and suffered from a learning disability.
Prosecutors said Amanda had even created a different identity for the plot, calling herself Gabriele Ferreira dos Santos and initially stating she was 11 before claiming she was 12 and celebrating the milestone with the couple.
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The family went on to take her in, treat her as their own daughter, and treated her to toys and more as it was claimed Amanda told them she had autism, a neurodevelopmental condition.
As for her size, she is said to have explained it away by stating she had been given hormones during childhood that developed her body.
The hearing in Joinville, northern Santa Catarina, Brazil, heard from her defence lawyer, who said she had not gained financially by the deception.
According to police, she said: “It is clear that I deceived people, I lied. But I did not intend to scam anyone.”
Her lawyer Lucio Sousa said her actions were simply a way for her to ‘survive’ as they claimed: “It was the way she found to survive. But she has been a vulnerable person for more than 20 years.”
In the end, she was sentenced just yesterday (20 August) to spend one year, six months and 10 days in prison for her crimes, per SBT News.
Jurinews also reported that Amanda was additionally handed four months and 18 days in detention in a semi-open initial regime.
However, it was also revealed that this wasn’t the first time Amanda had lied about her identity so that someone would take care of her.
In 2017, she allegedly used the name Karolina when she lived with a social worker called Delma Soares in Belo Horizonte.
She also is said to have used the name Duda and Emily.
Nutritionist Renata Magalhaes, said she met ‘Duda’ in Rio de Janeiro in 2023, and she apparently claimed to be an autistic teen in need.
However, later alleged to have seen searched on her mobile which proved that it had all been a carefully constructed plot to deceive her.
Renata said, per Metro: “Her phone was full of searches. She researched how an autistic person behaves and how to make drawings to move evangelical people.”
She added: “I have seen many people laughing and making jokes on the internet, but she is a fraudster, a narcissist, a dangerous woman. She is a person who puts on a character like a coat and creates a totally fake narrative.”
Topics: Crime, World News
Britt Jones