The Movie ‘Orphan’ Becomes Real Life After Adult Woman Tricks Couple Into Believing She’s a 12-Year-Old

Movies often imitate real life, but in one case, life has imitated a movie (and this isn’t the first time something like this has occurred).

37-year-old Brazilian woman, Amanda Maria Souza de Oliveira, was recently sentenced to 18 months and 10 days in prison after tricking a couple into believing she was only 12 years old. She spent 14 months convincing them of this, and, as it turned out, this wasn’t the first time she’d pulled this ruse. According to The Guardian, court records linked her to numerous similar cases in at least nine other towns and cities; she had allegedly been pulling the same routine for about 15 years.

However, Oliveira reportedly explained, “Of course, I deceived people, I lied. But I didn’t intend to scam anyone.”

The strange case began when Oliveira approached a church for aid

Oliveira’s most recent pretense at being a child came when she approached a church in Joinville, Brazil, for aid. She claimed that she was a 12-year-old girl named Gabriele and that she was running from horrific treatment in another part of the country. Among the things she said she endured were forced medical experiments, parental abuse, and sex trafficking.

The pastor of the church connected her with the couple she deceived. When they questioned why she looked older than twelve, Oliveira said that she had undergone forced hormone treatments when younger. Then, she kept convincing them she was a child for the next 14 months.

To do this, she routinely spoke in a high-pitched voice. Additionally, she gravitated toward overly childlike objects, including pacifiers, dolls, and baby bottles. Oliveira even went so far as to pretend she had night terrors in a bid to convince the couple she was indeed traumatized.

It worked. The couple began treating her like their child and planned to adopt her. However, a visiting relative became suspicious and conducted an online search. There they discovered that Oliveira had done the same thing under a different name in another place and contacted the authorities.

Oliveira went to great lengths for her ruse

The ruse always varied somewhat. During COVID-19, Oliveira allegedly pretended to be a young girl with terminal leukemia; in another version, she reportedly claimed to have serious health problems. She also allegedly went to great lengths to back up her stories, especially the ones involving abuse. Purportedly, she would embed wires, nails, and needles under her skin to create “injuries.”

During trial, Oliveira admitted she lied but also explained why she kept pretending to be a child. She reportedly stated, “There was a certain void in me, a need to have that kind of care, so I always sought it out.”

Additionally, her lawyer was reported as having said, “It was the way she found to survive. But she has been a vulnerable person for more than 20 years.”

However, the courts didn’t agree with the defense. They concluded that she acted consciously and deliberately, resulting in the 18-month and 10-day prison sentence. Her lawyers have stated that they will appeal.

The case sparked disbelief online. One netizen summed the story up best when they reportedly commented, “Life truly is stranger than fiction.”

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