She managed to fool a Texan couple for several months. Moved by the story Charity Johnson told them, they welcomed her into their home. But it was all a ruse, and the deception was uncovered by the Gregg County Police.
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Life as a teenager
In the eyes of all, Charity Johnson's name was Charity Stevens and she was a student like any other from a Christian High School in Longview, Texas. It all began in October 2013, when Tamica Lincoln met the 34-year-old who told her she was 15.
She tells an empathetic older couple that she lost her mother and was sexually abused by her father. The Lincolns decided then and there to take care of what they thought was a troubled teenager. Charity was really blending in with the masses, the headmaster of her school explains to ABC: "She had friends, everyone loved her". Physically, no one had any idea how old Charity really was as she looked so young. But it was all about to change...
The lie uncovered
Tamica Lincoln gradually begins to doubt Charity's identity. She then decides to call the police. The fake teenager repeats her story to the investigators, but they are not fooled and end up discovering the appalling truth.
Charity Johnson was able to enrol in secondary school because she said she had been home-schooled, so no school had a record of the student. The discovery of this deception came as a surprise to everyone around Charity. The Lincolns are still wondering why the young woman invented a false identity. "I don't know why she did it," Tamica admits to ABC cameras.
The Texan couple was actually not the only victims of Charity Johnson. After they posted a picture of the usurper on a popular social network, four women from across the United States contacted them claiming that they too had been approached by Charity. Charity Johnson's bail had been set to $500 and she ended up serving 29 days in jail after pleading guilty to the charge of assuming a false identity.
