‘Hallelujah’: Kidnapping victims of former CT charter schools leader praise jury’s quick verdict

HARTFORD — Thirty-eight years after he broke into four women’s homes, sexually assaulted them and held them against their will, a jury on Wednesday convicted former Connecticut charter schools leader Michael Sharpe on all eight counts of first-degree kidnapping. 

Sharpe was ordered held on $2.5 million bond pending his sentencing on Jan. 9. The 71-year-old Sharpe faces 25 to 100 years in prison. 

The five-day trial started last week in state Superior Court in Hartford, consisting of testimonies from victims, scientists, law enforcement and a woman who had a child with Sharpe.

The jury deliberated for 30 minutes before delivering its verdict on Wednesday. In a brief phone interview after the verdict, Supervisory Assistant State’s Attorney John Fahey thanked the jury on behalf of the cold case unit. When asked about the speed of the verdict, he said the jury looked at the DNA evidence and saw it was critical to proving the case against Sharpe.

Sharpe’s charges stem from incidents authorities say occurred in June and July 1984. After advances in technology, authorities have said DNA linked Sharpe in recent years to each of the crime scenes. Sharpe is accused of sexually assaulting four women after he broke into each of their homes in Bloomfield, Middletown, Windsor and Rocky Hill in the middle of the night. He threatened the women with a firearm throughout the incidents, making them fear for their lives, and stole money and valuables afterward, the women testified last week. 

Two of Sharpe’s four victims were in the courtroom when the verdicts were read Wednesday. Outside in the park across the street from the courthouse, the women said they were relieved. They did not want to give their names, but identified themselves as they were in the case — Jane Doe 1 and Jane Doe 4.

The women said they never expected anyone to be arrested after so much time had elapsed.

“You just have to keep going on,” Jane Doe 1 said. 

Jane Doe 1, now 63, was 25 years old and living in Bloomfield when Sharpe held her against her will, and according to her testimony, sexually assaulted her. Sharpe, a Marlborough resident, could not be charged with sexual assault since the statute of limitations at the time had expired.

“This has been a long 38 years, especially the last two,” she said, referring to Sharpe’s arrest and the subsequent trial.

“Hallelujah,” she said of the jury’s quick verdict.

Jane Doe 4, who is now 62, was 24 when she awoke to an armed Sharpe in the middle of the night while her daughter lay next to her asleep. According to her testimony, the masked man let the woman put her toddler into another room. He then blindfolded the woman and sexually assaulted her.

She said she was grateful for the hard work of the prosecutors, but also said this has been the hardest week of her life. The woman said her 42-year-old daughter who was present during the attack died Saturday of cancer.

In 1984, law enforcement conducted investigations that involved interviewing multiple people related to the women in the hopes of finding a common thread and testing evidence collected from the scenes. 

Despite similarities in the cases, it wasn’t until 2003 when investigators established an official link. Scientists at the state’s forensic lab used new DNA technology to reexamine evidence from the cold case that had tested positive for semen. They found that DNA in the bath towel, the washcloth and the two sets of sheets from the four incidents had come from the same person. 

Unable to identify who the DNA belonged to, another lull in the case persisted until 2020. Investigators obtained leads from an out-of-state agency, which was not affiliated with law enforcement, that suggested potential matches. The matches — Sharpe’s brother and his two half-brothers — were later eliminated after police tested additional DNA samples from the relatives. 

Police then pursued the fourth lead, Sharpe himself, by testing items collected from his trash. Sharpe matched the case’s DNA profile and a second time when police swabbed his cheeks while conducting a search warrant. 

In the trial, one forensic analyst testified the chance of the DNA profile matching another person would be 1 in 7 billion. 

Sharpe was arrested on Nov. 17, 2020. He was later released from custody on a promise to appear in court, according to court records. 

In her closing argument Tuesday, public defender Dana Sanetti said Sharpe’s DNA was the only evidence connecting him with the crimes and it was only “a piece of the puzzle.” 

Prosecutors defended the evidence, citing how precise the testing had been to eliminate Sharpe’s brothers. 

“There’s no reason to deny the science in this case,” Senior Assistant State’s Attorney Robin Krawczyk said. 

Bridgeport hired Sharpe’s charter school company, Family Urban Schools of Excellence, to run Dunbar School in 2013. At the time, Sharpe was well-known and respected in Hartford where his organization ran Jumoke Academy. 

His company was later fired after officials discovered Sharpe lied about having a doctorate and not disclosing he had been convicted of a felony. He also lied about the criminal backgrounds of some of his employees who worked as school aides. He pleaded guilty in 1985 in Hartford to two counts of third-degree forgery and, four years later, served prison time after pleading guilty to embezzlement in Oakland, Calif.

Those who have suffered from sexual abuse or violence can speak to specialists for support, information, advice or a referral by calling the free and confidential National Sexual Assault Hotline at 800-656-HOPE (4673). Those who wish to chat online with trained specialists, which is also free and confidential, can also go to www.RAINN.org/Get-Help. Help is available 24/7.

This article includes previous reporting from Christine Dempsey. 

Liz Hardaway may be reached at liz.hardaway@hearst.com