Woman pleads no contest for covering for son in sexual abuse case

ANCHORAGE (AP) -- A 53-year-old woman has pleaded no contest to one count of hindering prosecution in a child molestation case against her son.

Velma Jean Sharp was accused of covering up for her son, Chris Sharp. The 34-year-old man faces trial in January on a charge of sexually abusing an 11-year-old girl.

Sharp apologized in court Wednesday and entered her no contest plea. Superior Court Judge Dan Hensley then sentenced her to 90 days in jail and two years of probation.

At the end of the court hearing, Assistant District Attorney Leslie Dickson subpoenaed Sharp to testify for the prosecution at her son's upcoming trial.

Chris Sharp was convicted in 1989 of four counts of first-degree sexual abuse after he was returned to Alaska from South Carolina. He fled there with the help of his parents, who rigged up evidence that he had committed suicide or been murdered. Both parents were convicted of hindering prosecution in that case and sentenced to a year in jail.

Chris Sharp was sentenced to 17 years on the sexual abuse charges and released on parole in October 1999. The alleged new offense occurred in November 1999. The mother was charged with telling the girl to keep quiet about the abuse and to deny it happened.