A former teacher and part-time dean at Lincoln-Way East High School in Frankfort was sentenced to 6 months in jail and 4 years of probation Friday after admitting in court he had sex with two underage students in 2001.
Gregory Sharpe, 37, of New Lenox will serve the jail term, which could be reduced to 90 days for good behavior, in separate segments over the next four years to allow him to keep his job, said his lawyer, Raymond Garza of Olympia Fields.
Sharpe, who was fired from the school district, declined to comment, and his lawyer would not say what Sharpe does for a living.
Will County Judge Robert Livas accepted the plea and handed down the sentence.
Prosecutors said they wanted Sharpe incarcerated, but Sharpe’s attorney argued for leniency, saying the sexual abuse charges “would seem to reflect an aberration” on an otherwise clean record.
In court Friday, Will County Assistant State’s Atty. Thomas Konczal said that in June 2001, Sharpe had sex with a 16-year-old girl in his car after meeting her at a New Lenox restaurant where she worked.
That summer Sharpe met another 16-year-old girl at a hardware store in the area, where the two exchanged phone numbers, Konczal said. Twice that summer, the girl went to Sharpe’s New Lenox home where they had sex, the prosecutor said.
One of the victims has filed a lawsuit accusing the school district of being negligent in hiring Sharpe.
Prosecutors said Sharpe did not have either victim in his classes, but both girls knew him because of his position in the district.
Lawrence Wyllie, superintendent of Lincoln-Way High School District, said he was pleased Sharpe pleaded guilty.
