GALENA, Kan. -- Authorities in Galena are investigating a case in which a 33-year-old woman posing as a 13-year-old boy sought help from a church and tried to enroll in a middle school.

Jim Jones, pastor of the Galena Assembly of God, said the person he now knows to be a woman showed up at his church in October, claiming to be Chris Gomez, a 13-year-old boy who had been the victim of child abuse.

Jones said that after a series of inconsistencies, he confronted the person claiming to be a boy last week and that she told him she was actually a 33-year-old woman with three children.

The case was referred to JoAnna Derfelt, the Cherokee County prosecutor, who asked the sheriff's department to investigate. She said Monday that until the investigation is complete she would not comment on it or identify the person being investigated.

Jones said he knew the woman as Birdie Jo Hoaks. A woman of that name attracted attention in Salt Lake City in 1995 when she called Utah social services officials and told them she had been left at a bus stop by her stepmother and father. The woman provided a birth certificate for Michael Ross, who would celebrate his 13th birthday several days later, on Christmas. The story triggered an outpouring of sympathy, and two trust accounts were set up.

But after the story was revealed as a hoax, the money was refunded. Reports of similar hoaxes by a Birdie Jo Hoaks came in from a number of other states, including Montana, Vermont, Alaska, California, Kansas, Texas, Idaho, New York, New Jersey, Maine, South Dakota, West Virginia, Arizona and Wisconsin.

In the Salt Lake City case, Hoaks was sentenced to 18 months in jail for theft of services and making a false statement, both misdemeanors. She was also ordered to make restitution of $580.

A judge later ordered her release to a woman's shelter after a psychiatric evaluation concluded she was not a danger to herself or others.

Jones said the woman he knows as Hoaks was at his church on Sunday and that he speaks to her almost daily. He said she is about 5 feet tall and 140 pounds and was very convincing in portraying a teenage boy who claimed to have been sleeping in a bus belonging to his church.

Jones said he had often invited her to his home after services for lunch with his family, and that he purchased clothing and food for her. He said an optometrist belong to the church gave her an eye exam and free glasses, and another church member cut her hair for free.

Jones said the woman told him she had been home-schooled and never attended public school, so at his urging and with his help she tried to enroll in the Galena School District early last month.

"I know she met with a special education teacher to be evaluated," he said. "But I don't think she ever was allowed in with the general school population."

School Superintendent Ray Dykens said the woman had no identification but had a Social Security number. He said that when the number checked out, the district agreed to allow her to meet with a special-education teacher for testing.

He said the woman, posing as a boy, met with the teacher for about three hours a day for four days.

Dykens said the woman, who never was allowed to attend classes with other students, stopped showing up at the school.

"We weren't about to put him in with the school population until we knew who he, or she, was," he said.

Jones said many things that Hoaks told him were suspect. For instance, he said she kept changing her story about her living arrangements. He said that after she told him she was actually a woman, he informed the school district, and Galena police were also notified.

Jones said the woman is living in an apartment with her toddler son, her twin sister, her mother and stepfather.

"I have been in the home, and I can tell you her son is healthy and well-cared for," he said.

He said he had difficulty understanding her motive. He said she apparently had access to money and on Sunday paid him back money he had given her to purchase clothing. He also said she apparently had a place to stay the entire time she was posing as a 13-year-old boy. 

Copyright 2004 by The Associated Press.