A retired Detroit police sergeant has been charged with kidnapping and raping a family relative and was a fugitive for two weeks before authorities recently caught up with him out of state.
James Everett Sharpe Jr. was charged with kidnapping, two counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct, two counts of third-degree criminal sexual misconduct — incest, and assault with intent to do great bodily harm less than murder, according to court records.
The charges carry a maximum penalty of life in prison.
Sharpe, 57, was supposed to turn himself in to Romulus police, but he never did, prompting a manhunt that recently ended in a state outside of Michigan. He’s expected to be returned to Wayne County as early as Saturday, when he will be arraigned on the six felony counts in 34th District Court in Romulus.
Sharpe joined the Detroit Police Department in April 1986 and retired in July 2010.
The victim, who is an adult, told Romulus police that Sharpe recently raped her and held her captive.
To protect the identity of the woman, Metro Times isn't disclosing Sharpe’s relationship to the victim.
The Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office filed charges on Aug. 4.
The prosecutor’s office declined to divulge more details, saying it was “a very sensitive case.”
More information will be uncovered when Sharpe faces a preliminary examination in 34th District Court at a date that has not yet been set.
It wasn’t immediately clear whether Sharpe has an attorney.
Michigan State Police recently declined a Freedom of Information Act request from Metro Times and the Invisible Institute seeking the identities of all certified and uncertified officers, saying “the public disclosure of the information would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of an individual’s privacy.” Michigan is one of 15 states that denied access to the information, while 36 have disclosed at least some portion of certification data. By withholding the information, Michigan makes it impossible to track repeat-offender “wandering cops.
Metro Times and the Invisible Institute are appealing the denial.
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