Law&Crime Sidebar - Grown Woman Pretended to be 'Traumatized' High School Teen

Episode Date: February 5, 2026

Former social worker Shelby Hewitt, 34, learned her fate this week after she pretended to be a Boston-area high school student for months. But the story is far from over. Did her therapist help her pull off the elaborate ruse? Former prosecutor Dan Schorr joins Law&Crime’s Sidebar to break down Hewitt’s sentence, the potential ethical violations involved, and the fallout for the students she betrayed.PLEASE SUPPORT THE SHOW: Stay Informed, Stay Safe – Check Public Records with TruthFinder now at https://www.truthfinder.com/lcsidebar   HOST:Jesse Weber: https://twitter.com/jessecordweberLAW&CRIME SIDEBAR PRODUCTION:YouTube Management - Bobby SzokeVideo Editing - Michael Deininger, Christina O'Shea, Alex Ciccarone, & Jay CruzScript Writing & Producing - Savannah Williamson & Juliana BattagliaGuest Booking - Alyssa Fisher & Diane KayeSocial Media Management - Vanessa BeinSTAY UP-TO-DATE WITH THE LAW&CRIME NETWORK:Watch Law&Crime Network on YouTubeTV: https://bit.ly/3td2e3yWhere To Watch Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3akxLK5Sign Up For Law&Crime's Daily Newsletter: https://bit.ly/LawandCrimeNewsletterRead Fascinating Articles From Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3td2IqoLAW&CRIME NETWORK SOCIAL MEDIA:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lawandcrimeTwitter: https://twitter.com/LawCrimeNetworkFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/lawandcrimeTwitch: https://www.twitch.tv/lawandcrimenetworkTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lawandcrimeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We at Sidebar have been buried in the latest release of the Epstein files, all three and a half million of them. And when it comes to Epstein's life, the emails, those especially contain the bad, the ugly, the downright disturbing. So I want you to join us as we go through 17 of some of the grossest emails we've seen so far. But this is not just smut. They are very important in the overall story and a legal context. Welcome to Sidebar, presented by law and crime. I'm Jesse Weber. I know this is a little bit of a 180, but I got to say it.

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It tackles eyebags, dark spots, wrinkles, that post-shape irritation, which is the absolute worst. It also moisturizes and nourishes with high-grade science-backed ingredients. I'm talking, hyluronic acid, vitamin E, hobo oil. So join over a million men worldwide and looking confident with very little effort. Check out Particle at the link below and use my code sidebar 20 for 20% off site wide. One of the things we talk about when it came to Jeffrey Epstein's files release over the past week or so has been the emails. Why? Well, for one, they're vile, they're disgusting,

but more importantly, they are massively important. Emails from an evidentiary point of view are so important, they're so compelling, partly because they're really hard to deny. Yeah, we live in a day and age of AI, but as of right now, it is very hard to say that you didn't send or receive certain emails. Sure, people make the claim the defense. So someone else had access to my phone, someone else had access to my computer. But for purposes of this discussion, can we just assume that these emails were sent or received by Epstein? And especially with Epstein, you're talking about emails from years ago. So we have to assume they came from him or were sent to him. And here's the big part. As I go through 17 or so of some of the most disgusting and disturbing emails in this

files release, this is a preview of what his trial could have looked like. If he didn't die in his jail cell in August of 2019, I mean, by all accounts, he was set to go to trial on federal charges of sex trafficking of minors. And the emails, I have to imagine, this would have been presented by prosecutors to a jury. Emails can help prove intent, agreement, mutual understanding, planning, timeline, especially since he was charged with sex trafficking and conspiracy. So these are key elements. So as we go through these emails, it's not about smut. It's not about sensationalism. I want to try to provide some larger context to this as well. And by the way, to just go back to how disgusting all of this was, right? They talk so much about the high profile players, the conspiracy theories.

We've gotten into that. But just let's remember who we're talking about, Jeffrey Epstein, okay? And I think these emails kind of give a good insight into his mindset, his behavior. And I'm going to warn you right now. These are very difficult to listen to as I read them, but again, gives the insight into this twisted and disturbed world. Again, these were the emails that were released pursuant to the Epstein Files Transparency Act, the law that required the DOJ, the Department of Justice, to turn over all of the Epstein investigatory materials in its possession. So let's start here. How about this email from March 11th, 2014 to Jeffrey Epstein? Thank you for a fun night, your little girl was a little naughty. I think this email kind of sets the tone,

doesn't it, right? We don't know who it's from, but it's redacted, but all the way back in 2014, after he already pled guilty to Florida State charges of solicitation of prostitution and a solicitation of prostitution with a minor under the age of 18, sentenced to 18 months in a minimum security facility, it's the sweetheart deal. So people knew what he was about, and they still hung out with him. And there's always a question of why, what were they getting? a return. And an email like this, sure, do we know the whole context of it? No. Do we know if this is a joke? No. But given what we know about Epstein, what he was accused of, this email kind of you put two and two together, I would say this would be a key piece of evidence in a case against him regarding the

sexual abuse of minors. And it's emails like this that get people very angry when they say, how is it possible? No one else was prosecuted. You know, who knew, who participated? True. Is there enough evidence in the document released to prove a case beyond the reasonable doubt? many legal analysts say no. And the DOJ and the FBI released a statement over the summer saying there was no one else to prosecute based on these files. But an email like this, very concerning on multiple levels. How about this one? September 14th, 2014, almost nine in the morning, Jeffrey Epstein wrote, not a good idea for you to come today. Too many wash people think you look too young. And then this response back, okay. Yeah, that wouldn't be great for Epstein

at trial. I don't know if he meant this person is really an adult and they look. or in fact, this person is a minor. But it kind of goes to a knowledge component, right? There was this case against him. There was an understanding of what he might have been up to. That's consciousness of guilt in a way. He knows that. It's very, very disturbing.

How about this one? This is from Jeffrey Epstein. On April 29th, 2009, the subject line is, you have received a flip video. So this is the days before iPhones. He writes, how old is this one? And the response at 838 a.m. 19. Epstein writes back, Bring it to New York, please.

And then the email back to Epstein is, she is arriving next week. How old is this one? Yeah. Now, the idea of bringing her there, arriving, it goes to this alleged systematic, procedural nature of bringing girls and women into his orbit, right? Whether it's a crime or not, whether it be used at trial or not. You know, I could have seen prosecutors using this maybe. But I got to say this too, whether it was used at a criminal case or not, just some of this is so nauseating, which by the way, is why we didn't make this 100 disgusting emails from Jeffrey Epstein files. I don't want you to have to vomit. But here you go. I got some more I got to show to you. This is from August 11th, 2009. Again, like right after he pled guilty. It's right in this time frame. This is from Jeffrey Epstein. It would be nice if when I asked you to rub my head or my feet, you actually did it for more than 10 minutes without thinking about something else. The response from this person, is, I thought I did. Sorry, my new b-b-hast-must have distracted me. And Epstein writes back,

your apology is accepted. In this instance, I can't say you were distracted by very little. And look, we know, prosecutors said that massages were the instrument to begin and facilitate abuse. Whether this person was an adult or not, it's just gross. But it continues, like, how about this one, from Jeffrey Epstein to a redacted person. We don't know who it is. August 2nd, 2015 at 5.30. Now that I understand, try to take some nude photos. Be open, brave, sexy, wild, dance, jump, have fun, live. The response back to that is, okay, I ask my friend, so she will take some sexy photos tonight or tomorrow. This message from Epstein, I think you should take some yourself first. Now, I want you to be free with yourself. First, I think you should study

English, go online. There are many classes. Then take the T-O-E-F-L test. The photo. Should not be porn, but should be sexy. Do you watch porn? For example, you want to be free without being porn, but laugh, have fun. You are going to be 22, not 14 years old. How about this one? This is to Jeffrey Epstein. It isn't easy for a telotubby to look sexy. I will go to . before I go out and take some X, X, X, X, X, X, X, X, X, X, X. And by the way, this is in response to what Jeffrey Epstein had written. Thanks for your help, send photos of you, and sexy would be appreciated. This one, unfortunately, is now ingrained in my mind. I'm going to have to be careful how I say it. And he's really quite blunt. This is Saturday, August 15, 2015, 11.5 p.m.

Take a selfie of your bleep and send. I think you know what he's referring to, a private area of a woman. The response back, writing to Jeffrey Epstein, I'm sorry. I was a little bit lost when you asked me about sex and what I want to try with you. As you know, I am a virgin, so I know nothing about sexual life and cannot answer you. What I know, I want to try sex. because I maybe will feel more confidence. Sometimes I think I am too shy from modeling.

You are attractive for me, and that's why I told you, why not? I think an argument could be made. Maybe this is somebody who is not from the United States, kind of like broken English. There's this one from Jeffrey Epstein to somebody redacted. April 22nd, 2012. Make sure you take some form of antibiotic for the bleep, Cleosin or some such. You've had many bleeps in just a few weeks.

He's referring to Mel Janitalia that she's been having. a lot of sex. So the response back is, Jeffrey, I am a clean freak. I contact my doctors for every little thing. Not so many. Always the same. And always with condom. We'll take a test. That's always useful. I'm a bit surprised to see these messages. He responds back, I only want good for you. Now, you can see prosecutors maybe saying that this person was used by Jeffrey Epstein, right, outsourcing her to different men, right? How would you know that she was with so many men, allegedly? It's vile. It arguably goes to maybe even like a grooming kind of thing, too. I'm only looking out for you, but how about this one?

A riddle that, honestly, you're not going to soon forget. So it's written to Jeffrey Epstein, April 29, 2013. What is greater than God, more evil than devil, reach, need it, poor have it, and if you eat it, you will die. What is it? And the email in this conversation at one point back is, or your bleep, meaning female genitalia, either works. And this person writes back, ha, ha, ha, great answer, I like it. but poor don't have my bleep. How about this one?

Actually, I think this one is important in a sex trafficking context, okay? So this is from Jeffrey Epstein to, again, an unidentified individual. Okay, now it's time to send me great sexy photos, no excuses. Person writes back, you will be receiving at least one sexy photo every single day until the day I see you in New York in the end of October. First one, soon to come with a wink face. And this is important. Epstein writes back, your trip will depend on how sexy they are.

Okay. So in a sex trafficking case, the prosecution would need to prove that the defendant enticed or recruited a victim to engage in sex acts. It's kind of commercial sex, right? So if you reward somebody or you promise something of value to get sex, those are key elements, key evidence in this kind of criminal case. So sexy photos in exchange for a trip, maybe the argument could be, hey, he was just tongue-in-cheek, maybe he was joking, but you could see how prosecutors could say that as evidence of sex

trafficking, or maybe, just something to think about. By the way, just talking gross for a second, I got to mention Peter Attia. This is the anti-aging influencer. You probably seen him on social media, recently appointed contributor at CBS News, although it does become a question about his role at that company moving forward. He was mentioned almost 2,000 times in the Epstein files, the newly released Epstein files, specifically emails between him and Epstein from 2015 to 2018. And I'm not going to lie, they're really, really disgusting. Atia wrote in one email to Epstein in February of 2016 that a woman's private part is, quote, low. carb added still awaiting results on gluten content, though. How about this email dated June 24th,

2015 with the subject line, got a fresh shipment where Atia seemingly writes, the biggest problem with becoming friends with you, the life you lead is so outrageous and yet I can't tell a soul. Kind of chilling when you think about Epstein and the fact that he was, again, brought up on federal sex trafficking charges of minors, accused of abusing minors for years. But Atia went on the defensive. He wrote a long response on X, reads in part, reading that exchange, now is very embarrassing and I will not defend it. I'm ashamed of myself for everything about this. At the time, I understood this exchange as juvenile, not a reference to anything dark or harmful. He added that he did not participate in any criminal activity. He also added that he was, quote,

never on his plane, never on his island, and never present at any sex parties. I will say Atea stepped down from his role as chief science officer at the snack bar company David Protein. It was also reported that a 60-minute segment that he was featured on has been pulled. And again, no word at the time of this recording on the future of his association with CBS, but we'll see. Oh, this one was a surprising one. Didn't expect this. In the Epstein files, there was a reference to Diddy. Yeah, connection to another major federal sex crimes defendant in recent history, P. Diddy. So this was from somebody unidentified to Jeffrey Epstein, January 1st, 2013. How are you feeling? We were invited to Ike Batista boat on the second,

went to P Daddy Party, met some interesting PPL people, Didn't see Elon, though. Miss you Kiss. 2013, not to break down here. To be clear, going to a Diddy party doesn't mean you were part of criminal activity or knew about it. But those parties came under a lot of scrutiny after Diddy was hit with over 50 lawsuits claiming sexual abuse and then charged with federal sex trafficking, racketeering, and prostitution counts. He was ultimately acquitted of the most serious charges at his very publicized trial. But he was convicted of transportation to engage in prostitution.

He's currently in prison. But the Elon thing is interesting, too, though, okay? Because assuming we're talking Elon Musk, I mean, I don't know another Elon that would come into play here. But Elon Musk emails 2012, 2013, there were emails where it seemed to suggest the two were trying to meet up, him and Epstein. For example, December 2013, we'll be in the BVI, St. Bart's area over the holidays. Is there a good time to visit? And then there was a response from JEE vacation. I will send heli for you, seemingly a helicopter.

Actually, I could fly back early on the third. We will be in St. Bart's. should we head to your island on the second? Did we need to organize Elon to your island on January 2nd? And Musk appeared to ask Epstein one email, what day or night will be the wildest party on your island? Now, it doesn't appear that that ever happened that he visited. In fact, Musk had previously tweeted that Epstein was a creep, that he tried repeatedly to get him to visit the island. He always declined. And Musk also responded more recently on X that no one pushed harder than me to have the Epstein files released. And I'm glad that has finally happened. I had very little correspondence

with Epstein and declined repeated invitations to go to his island or fly on his Lolita Express. He was well aware that some email correspondence with him could be misinterpreted and used by detractors to smear my name. Okay, the next one I want to get into is something that's tied to a recent episode of Sidebar we did. There is a message from Corinna to Epstein, okay? And there are links in this email to very graphic pornography sites. Now, why is this important? It's from September 2012. Why is this important? As we reported, Karina Shuliac, if this is really her, she's really sending this email. Karina Shuliac appears to be Epstein's secret girlfriend, the person that he planned to leave

the bulk of his fortune, $100 million, and properties to when he died. She apparently spoke to him 20 minutes the night before he died. There was even evidence that he was contemplating marrying her. Now, on one hand, a couple sharing porn or engaging in private sexual conduct or behavior, whatever, each their own. But on the other hand, you can see why this looks weird, right? considering who Epstein was. Now, she has never been formally accused of wrongdoing or charged with a crime, but just something I have to mention here with this email. By the way, big thing

in the Epstein file's release was his connection to the rich, the powerful, the notorious. And a name that constantly pops up and an email that's very disturbing regarding him is Woody Allen. Former neighbor, just got to call out this email. So creepy. So Epstein seems to joke about being accused of going to a pedophile convention when he was going to visit Paris with director Woody Allen, writing this. in 2012. So this was an email back to someone who said to Epstein, like asking, I guess as a joke, lay pedophile convention. And Epstein writes back, I think pedophile is the plural. It's weird. It's not even like he's denying it. It's just strange. Now I got to go to this. This has been

making a ton of news. So another disturbing email in this list is a reported exchange between Epstein and Peter Mandelson. This is a prominent British politician, former diplomat, U.K. Ambassador Washington at one point, causing a lot of uproar. So this exchange from 2009 allegedly surrounds Epstein's release from prison after serving 13 of his 18-month sentence, again, on those charges of solicitation of prostitution and of solicitation of prostitution of a minor. And here's how that went. So this is from Jeffrey Epstein, July 22nd, 2009. He writes him, or allegedly writes, Mandelson, free and home. Mandelson, seemingly, writes back, how shall we celebrate? Epstein responds, with grace and modesty. Those are the names of two

strippers. Okay. Then Mandelson writes at another point, how is freedom feeling? And Epstein writes back, she feels fresh, firm, and creamy. And then this is the big one. This is allegedly from Mandelson to Epstein. In response, he writes back, naughty boy. By the way, just two days ago, London officials announced that they are launching a criminal investigation against Mandelson on the same day that he resigned from his seat in Britain's parliament. And while the announcement didn't name him specifically, it did reference a 72-year-old man, a former government minister for misconduct and public office offenses. So we'll see where that goes. By the way, back in September, Mendelsohn was fired from his job as the UK ambassador to the United States after there was

more context put to his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. And I will tell you this email sure doesn't help. I also want to talk about another big figure. Peggy Siegel, big publicist, okay? She was a known Epstein associate. So in one sense, it wasn't new her name was coming up in the Epstein files. And I will tell you, something happened, though. An email came out, I got to mention. To give you a little context about who she is, though, Tina Brown from the Daily Beast penned an opinion piece the other day. It was titled how the Epstein files exposed his fixer's plot to neutralize me, referring to Siegel. And it was about how Segal had seemingly tried to do damage control for Jeffrey Epstein when all these allegations were coming out. For instance,

Brown says that back in 2010 when she was editor of the Daily Beast, Seagull had asked her to a then Prince Andrew dinner that was hosted by Jeffrey Epstein. And apparently Charlie Rose was there and Woody Allen was there. And Brown allegedly says to Segal, quote, what the is this Peggy? The pedophiles ball? And Segal allegedly responded, all that Epstein stuff being so overblown. Now she goes on to describe how the Epstein files released this week shows how much of a PR panic Epstein and Siegel were in. I'd say all that to give you background to point out this email, okay? Really, something else. Okay. So this is from apparently Peggy Siegel to J-E-E Vacation at Gmail.com. So we assume Jeffrey Epstein. This is dated December 18th, 2009. So the subject line is Kenya. Okay. On the plane now

with Maddie, we're about to take off for Amsterdam to Nairobi. We land the morning of the 19th in Amsterdam and late evening of the 19th in Nairobi. On Sunday morning, we fly into the bush to Kotter's camp in the Mesaimara, then to Sasaab in 24th, 26th, then on the 26th to Lemu, to Poponi Hotel, and back January 4th. We cannot thank you enough, yet another life experience. If the Maasai warriors don't eat us, the pirates from Somalia will. Coming to P.B. to see you in January, taking photos, we'll have a ball and think of you all the time. Now, this is the part that's really, really troublesome.

Can bring a little baby back for you or two, boys or girls. So Madonna. Another one I want to highlight. This one's just bizarre, disturbing. From Jeffrey Epstein to somebody that we don't know. January 9th, 2012. So there is this message from J-E vacation at gmail.com. We assume Jeffrey Epstein.

It is dated January 9th, 2012. Do you want to come see me today tomorrow? We'll come at 10. There's an email from someone that says, yes, Jeffrey, I will be glad to see you. And a dream of learning this Jeffrey, let's just say technique from you. L.O.L. if you don't mind teaching again. My childhood friend from Moscow visits me here for three days. We are friends since seven years old.

We are having a dinner after work with and him. Do you mind if we come altogether to see you? So you could see what the gilded youth from Moscow is like now. He is very quiet and cute. And the response back from Epstein is, not tonight. I have people here. Terry from the UN for you and redacted. Okay.

So the first thing that stands out to me about this is Epstein's connection to powerful people. I think we can assume, we can assume we don't know for sure, but that he was referring to Kerry Rod Larson. Guy worked in the UN. The International Peace Institute had actually announced that he had apologized to the board, that he had to resign as the president. and the CEO because of his connection to Epstein.

And aside from this just being a really creepy conversation and this idea of alleged grooming, right, teaching, sex acts, all that, any mention of Moscow is really interesting. Why? We highlighted this in a previous episode, but there has been further speculation, particularly after this document release, that Epstein was a Russian asset or a Russian spy.

Now, to be clear, there's no definitive proof of that, but clearly, and we talked about this in a previous sidebar, There is clearly a lot of communication over trying to meet with Putin and a conversation over trying to get a Russian visa and offering advice to Russian officials and so forth. So interesting anytime you see that because there was an allegation that he was trafficking Russian girls and women as part of this alleged sex trafficking empire. Just something to think about. But there you have it. Okay. Could I go on for another hour with disgusting email?

Sure. But I'm going to spare you that. I don't think anybody wants to hear that. You get the idea of not only how very dirty this stuff is, but how telling it is, how compelling. this potential evidence could have been in a case against Jeffrey Epstein. It's all we have for you right now here on Sidebar, everybody. Thank you so much for joining us. And as always, please subscribe on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, wherever you get your

podcast. You can also check us out on NBC's Peacock as well. If you want to follow me, X Instagram, my News Nation show, Jesse Weber Live, Monday through Friday, 11 p.m. Eastern. I'll see you next time, everybody.