Overview
- Police say a 37-year-old woman used the name 'Gabriele' to convince a church and a host family in Joinville to treat her as a 12-year-old for about 14 months by adopting childlike behavior such as using bottles and pacifiers and altering her voice.
- Investigators arrested her at the Joinville home on June 2 and she now faces charges of fraud and identity falsification after a judge ordered preventive detention.
- Authorities reported links between the suspect and similar incidents in São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Minas Gerais, Rio Grande do Sul and Goiás, and records show a prior 2023 arrest in Nova Iguaçu under comparable allegations.
- The deception persisted because she avoided school and official registration, told a story of having fled abuse, and relied on community goodwill until a relative’s online search prompted a formal complaint to police.
- Officials are reviewing related files from multiple states and have ordered a psychiatric evaluation, and reporting notes that some sensational details in the press—such as claims about inserting needles or a single-source real name—have not been uniformly confirmed by authorities.