The Strangest Tales Of Adults Posing As Children

There are usually two kinds of people in this world: the ones who thrive in high school - and the ones who can't wait to leave those days behind them as soon as possible. What about the ones who can't leave their younger years in the past?

The strangest tales of adults posing as children seem to take things one step further than many of us ever imagined. While there have been plenty of movies about people going back in time and reliving their high school years, it turns out that not everything is made up. The problem? Some people have strange reasons for their behavior.

No one is sure if Natalia Barnett is an adult or a child

One of the strangest incidents of adults posing as children hit the headlines in 2019 when Natalia Barnett - legally 33 at the time - appeared on the talk show 'Dr. Phi.' Here, she claimed she was six years old when she was adopted in 2010, with her Ukrainian records backing up the story. However, the family who adopted Natalia later claimed she suffered from dwarfism and merely posed as a child. A judge later agreed, signing all papers needed to change Natalia's date of birth in 2013. After the court appearance, Natalia's adoptive parents rented an apartment for her and left for Canada. Some claim Natalia actually tried to end her parents' lives - something that was later ruled as untrue - with Natalia claiming she was a child at the time. Ultimately, Natalia was adopted by another family, who claim she is a child.

Patricia Dye was found guilty of posing as a teenage boy

Back in 2010, Patricia Dye found herself charged with several crimes that saw her behind bars for six months. While she might have been 31 years old, Patricia had been pretending to be a 14-year-old boy called Matt Abrams, with her crimes finally ending when she was caught after running away with her teenage girlfriend. Patricia's parents tried to defend her behavior, telling the news she had always been accused of being a boy while growing up in the '90s, and they were sure nothing inappropriate had happened. Sadly, the victims in the case admitted they were now worried about even leaving the house as a result of Patricia's actions. Although she was released in December 2010, Patricia was forced to be a part of a register and faced a lengthy mental health evaluation.

Brian Michael Rini made headlines after pretending to be a missing child

He might have been 23 years old at the time, but that didn't stop Brian Micahel Rini from trying to tell the world he was 14-year-old Timmothy Pitzen. In 2019, the Illinois teenager had been missing for eight years after his mother took her life around the same time, with no one sure where he had gone. The news broke the nation as people believed Timmothy had been found. That was until the following day when a DNA test revealed not only was Brian not who he claimed he was, but he had also already been caught twice posing as missing teenagers. Apparently, Brian told officers he wanted a family who cared about him as much as Timmothy's and was ultimately sentenced to two years behind bars for aggravated identity theft.

Audrey Francisquini posed as a teen to gain online followers

How far would you go to boost your follower count? For Audrey Francisquini, she posed as a teenager at high school just to get a few more numbers. In 2021, it's said the ex-police officer walked onto a campus in the US and started handing out flyers to students with her Instagram handle. Even when she was approached by several members of staff, Audrey merely claimed she was a student at the school. It wasn't until other adults got involved that Audrey realized she had overstayed her welcome - but there was a problem. Handing out her social media links meant it was incredibly easy for the police to track her down. This wasn't the first time the 28-year-old had been in trouble, as four years before, she had allegedly hacked into a coworker's social media and started posting adult photos of the officer. In the end, Audrey was charged with several crimes, including resisting arrest and trespassing.

The strangest tales of adults posing as children go to show just how far some people will go to get what they want. While most have been caught, it hasn't stopped people from trying their luck when it comes to pulling the wool over people's eyes.