Shelly Chartier facts for kids

Shelly Lynne Chartier (born 1983 or 1984) is a Canadian woman. She became known for her part in an online deception case. This case involved basketball player Chris Andersen and a young model named Paris Dunn. This type of online trickery is often called "catfishing."

Early Life and Home

Shelly Chartier lived a very quiet life for many years. She described herself as a "hermit." She stayed at home to care for her sick mother. Their home was in a small town called Easterville, Manitoba. Shelly only went to school until the 6th grade. She had very little contact with the outside world. She once said she did not leave her house for 11 years. Shelly used the internet to connect with others. However, she had little experience with real-world interactions.

The Online Deception Case

In 2012, when Shelly Chartier was 27, an event happened online. Paris Dunn, who was 17 and wanted to be an actress, posted a comment. She left her phone number on a public post by NBA player Chris Andersen, who was 33. Shelly Chartier saw this. She then pretended to be the NBA player and started talking to Paris Dunn online. Shelly also created fake social media accounts. She made accounts for both Andersen and Dunn. She even contacted the real Chris Andersen using the fake 'Dunn' account.

A fake online friend of Andersen's, named "Tom Taylor," was also used. This account helped arrange a meeting between the real Chris Andersen and Paris Dunn in Denver. It is not fully clear if Shelly Chartier was behind this "Tom Taylor" account. She has said many times that she was not. The online communication continued after the meeting. However, it eventually stopped. Paris Dunn kept sending messages to the 'Andersen' account. Shelly Chartier said she wanted to stop these messages. She claimed the "Tom Taylor" account was then used to threaten Paris Dunn. This threat involved releasing private images. At this point, the police became involved. Shelly Chartier later said on the TV show Catfish: The TV Show that the "Tom Taylor" profile was not hers. She said it was created by another person involved in the case. Police were aware of this other person.

Chris Andersen had online and in-person contact with the 17-year-old. He believed she was an adult. He was not charged with any crimes.

Legal Actions and Time in Prison

Shelly Chartier was arrested on January 15, 2013. She later admitted guilt on August 20, 2015. She pleaded guilty to several charges. These included pretending to be someone else, trying to get money by threats, making threats, and fraud. She said she was pregnant and was told she would get house arrest if she pleaded guilty. A special report was made to help the court understand her background. However, it did not give much information about her past life.

On October 14, Shelly Chartier was sentenced to 18 months in prison. This was the longest sentence requested by the legal team. She served one year of her sentence. This included 50 days spent alone in a cell. She was held at the Manitoba Women's Correctional Centre in Headingley. She was not allowed to leave prison early three times. She was finally released on October 22, 2016. After her arrest, she became known as the "Ghost of Easterville." People sometimes bothered her when they saw her in public there. She has said many times that she wants to move on with her life. Shelly Chartier has stated she is sorry for what happened. However, she has not changed her story about another person being involved. The incident was called "the biggest catfish [case]... ever solved." After she was released in Canada, it was reported that she still had a warrant for her arrest in Colorado. If found guilty there, she could face many years in prison.

Stories Inspired by the Case

This case inspired an episode of the TV show Law and Order: Special Victims Unit. The episode was called "Intent." Also, in 2017, an episode of Catfish: The TV Show featured both Paris Dunn and Shelly Chartier. Paris Dunn contacted the show after Shelly Chartier finished her prison time. She wanted to bring more attention to the incident. She continued to describe Chartier as a very clever person who might do something similar again.

Indictment: The Crimes of Shelly Chartier is a 2017 documentary. It was made by Shane Belcourt and Lisa Jackson. It aired on CBC as part of CBC Docs POV. This documentary changed how people talked about the case. It focused on Shelly Chartier as an isolated Indigenous woman. The media had often shown her as the bad guy. In the documentary, experts said they believed money was not her main goal. They thought Shelly might have acted this way to "experience what the others were experiencing." This allowed her to do things without leaving her safe home.

Personal Life

In 2014, Shelly Chartier married Rob Marku. He was from Yonkers, New York. They got married on Christmas Day. A documentary about her life was made by the CBC in 2017. She was also featured in Season 6, Episode 12 of Catfish: The TV Show.

Until 2017, Shelly Chartier did not have a job. Because of this, she could not help her husband get a visa to live with her permanently in Canada. She later found a part-time job as a janitor. This was at her Reserve's band office. She is now considered to be working full-time as her mother's caregiver.

See also

• Catfishing