12-year-old girl taken in by Brazilian family was actually 37-year-old woman, police say

'Gabriele' is shown in the image accompanying a news release by Polícia Civil de Santa Catarina.

A woman who tricked a family that took her in into believing she was a child maintained the charade for more than a year, police in Brazil say.

Officers in the southern Santa Catarina state announced an arrest last week in a disturbing case alleged to have involved a 37-year-old woman now facing charges related to fraud and false identity.

It’s alleged that the woman, who was not named by police, was pretending to be a 12-year-old girl named “Gabriele.”

She lied about having autism and other medical conditions “to gain the family’s trust,” police claimed in a Portuguese news release translated to English. She also claimed she’d been subjected to forced hormone treatment in her childhood, in an effort to justify why she physically appeared as an adult, police said.

She also used props as part of her disguise, according to police, who said “the suspect maintained childlike behaviours, routinely using pacifiers, baby bottles, and toys.”

Officers said the woman confessed during formal questioning, and is being held in Joinville Regional Prison.

Police said the accused is considered a repeat offender, noting criminal records in the Brazilian jurisdictions of São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Minas Gerais, Rio Grande do Sul and Goiás. Officers did not provide details, but said these records involve “this type of crime.”

The Brazilian news network Globo reported that the accused in this case went by “Maria Eduarda” in Rio de Janeiro, and “Ana Clara” in Sao Paulo.

As Maria, Globo reports, she allegedly convinced victims that she was a 12-year-old sex trafficking victim.