A 35-year-old woman deceived a couple for a year and a half, posing as a 12-year-old girl

In Brazil, the trial of 35-year-old Amanda Maria Souza de Oliveira, posing as a 12-year-old girl. This is reported today by the British The Guardian.

"A 38-year-old woman has been arrested in Brazil on charges that she posed as a 12-year-old girl to deceive a couple who took her to their home more than a year ago. Rafael Luis Sievert, Oliveira's lawyer, said that after the interview he "identified elements justifying the request for a psychiatric examination." The judge granted the petition, and the process was suspended until it was determined whether Oliveira could stand trial. In the meantime, she remains in prison," the publication says.

Amanda Maria Souza de Oliveira is accused in the southern state of Santa Catarina in Brazil of fraud. For almost 16 months that she lived with a couple in Joinville, who paid all her expenses, equipped a bedroom with toys and children's furniture in the house, and also hosted a party on the occasion of her 12th birthday.

After Oliveira's arrest a little over a week ago, it turned out that she had previously been charged in several other states of Brazil for conducting similar schemes. According to Prosecutor Vivian Soares, the investigation revealed "a complex fraud scheme involving the creation of a fictitious identity and emotional manipulation of victims in order to obtain unreasonable benefits."

As the duped couple told the police, Oliveira first approached them at the evangelical church they attended, introduced herself as Gabriel and stated that she was 18 years old. She complained of financial and medical difficulties, which is why the couple took her in. Later, Oliveira said that in fact she is 11 years old, and she looks older because her father allegedly forced her to take hormones and raped her. She is also rumored to have convinced her family not to enroll her in school or adopt her, allegedly out of fear that this might allow her father to find her.

The deception was revealed by the couple's aunt, who visited the family from time to time. She, suspecting that something was wrong with the age of the "girl", delved into the Internet and found there messages about a similar case in Rio de Janeiro three years ago. Videos and photos posted by other alleged victims show how Oliveira uses pacifiers, baby bottles and speaks in a childish way.

The earliest known case with Oliveira dates back to the late 2000s in her home state of Ceara, when she was in her 20s. She allegedly claimed at the police station that she was 12 years old and that she was a victim of sexual abuse.