Daniel Sharp, a longtime guitar teacher at the Stuart School of Music in Stuart, Florida, was convicted by a Martin County jury in 2019 of misdemeanor battery, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, and giving obscene material to a minor. In March 2020 he was sentenced to 18 months in the Martin County Jail followed by five years of sex offender probation,1TCPalm. Inappropriate Touching of Student Leads to Jail Time for Music Teacher and Florida’s Fourth District Court of Appeal affirmed the conviction in November 2021.2Justia Law. Daniel B. Sharp vs. State of Florida
What the Student Reported
Sharp had taught at the Stuart School of Music since 1994.3Palm Beach Post. Stuart Guitar Instructor Accused of Inappropriately Touching Student In May 2016, the Stuart Police Department opened an investigation after a 15-year-old female student told investigators that Sharp had touched her inappropriately during guitar lessons, given her alcohol, and shown her inappropriate photographs. She had been taking lessons from him for about two years at a studio in the 1600 block of South Kanner Highway.4WPTV. Daniel Bruce Sharp, Stuart Music Teacher Accused of Crimes Against a Minor She first disclosed what was happening to a boyfriend, who helped her tell her father, who then called police.1TCPalm. Inappropriate Touching of Student Leads to Jail Time for Music Teacher Sharp, then 64, turned himself in a month later.
What the Jury Decided
Prosecutors initially charged Sharp with committing a lewd and lascivious act on a minor under 16, showing harmful material to a minor, and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.4WPTV. Daniel Bruce Sharp, Stuart Music Teacher Accused of Crimes Against a Minor The case went to trial in Martin County Circuit Court before Judge Sherwood Bauer.
The jury acquitted Sharp of one count of felony lewd and lascivious molestation. On a second molestation count, it rejected the felony and convicted him instead of the lesser included charge of misdemeanor battery. It also convicted him of contributing to the delinquency of a minor and of giving obscene material to a minor.1TCPalm. Inappropriate Touching of Student Leads to Jail Time for Music Teacher
The Sentence
In March 2020, Judge Bauer sentenced Sharp to 18 months in the Martin County Jail: nine months for the battery conviction and nine months for contributing to the delinquency of a minor. The five years of sex offender probation attached to his conviction for giving obscene material to a minor.5TCPalm. Guitar Instructor Daniel Sharp Sentenced for Battery, Five Years Sex Offender Probation
Bauer said the offenses occurred “over a period of time” and that the court had a duty to “protect our most vulnerable.” He acknowledged that character witnesses described Sharp as a good person, but said the jury had heard the evidence and found he “violated criminal statutes.”1TCPalm. Inappropriate Touching of Student Leads to Jail Time for Music Teacher
The Appeal
Sharp appealed to Florida’s Fourth District Court of Appeal. On November 10, 2021, the panel issued a per curiam opinion affirming his conviction without a written explanation, a disposition that typically indicates the court found no reversible error in the trial below.6FindLaw. Sharp v. State2Justia Law. Daniel B. Sharp vs. State of Florida