HARTFORD, Conn. — A Marlborough man accused of four sexual assaults dating back to 1984 was convicted Wednesday on all eight counts of kidnapping in the 1st degree at Hartford Superior Court.
Michael Sharpe, 71, was remanded into custody pending his sentencing, which is scheduled for Jan. 9, 2023. Sharpe could face up to 100 years behind bars.
His bail was set at $2.5 million.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Trial continues for man accused of sexually assaulting 4 women in 1984
During the trial, the four women testified and heard from two forensic analysts.
Sharpe was convicted of sexually assaulting four women ranging in age from 24 to 30, each from a different city and town.
In all four attacks, Sharpe is accused of showing a gun while breaking into their homes.
In fact, Sharpe was the CEO of a former Connecticut charter school and was later fired for lying about his criminal background, having pleaded guilty to an embezzlement case while working in California.
The Connecticut case eventually went cold since the state's statute of limitations expired.
Since then, the four women have been living with the nightmare.
"One indicated she might be able to sleep three hours a night now instead of two. Another said it was the one reason she never got married," added Fahey.
However, two years ago, investigators used new genealogy technology which led to Sharpe's arrest.
"We were able to find a bag of garbage that he had put out at the curb and therefore abandoned that garbage. It contained documents that contained his name. It also had some belts. We never saw him wear the belts or anything like that but we submitted them for testing," added Fahey.
Two forensic analysts who examined the evidence back then testified at the trial Thursday and said they found bodily fluids, blood and forms of body hair on items such as sheets, a towel and a washcloth.
Despite the evidence collected, it was not strong enough to convict Sharpe at the time.
Distant family members submitted their DNA to genealogy sources and gave their consent to investigators to use.
Investigators then sent the newly found genealogy DNA to the lab and the results eventually led them to Sharpe.
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