Professor’s daughter returns home

Monica Sharp, the 17-year-old daughter of VCU English professor Nicholas Sharp, returned Oct. 24 to her father’s Museum District home in Richmond after being reported missing roughly five weeks ago.

One day after Monica Sharp’s return, Henrico County Police officials apprehended Jeffery Nichols, the 57-year-old man charged with using a “communications system to facilitate certain offenses involving children.”

Nichols was turned over to the Richmond City Police Department and is being held without bond.

According to the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Nichols allegedly met Monica Sharp online and persuaded the young girl to run away with him. She then voluntarily left home Sept. 18 with Nichols.

During those five weeks, the two were sighted in and out of state traveling together. Cynthia Price, Richmond Police spokesperson, said they knew the two had traveled north to Nichol’s residence.

“He is from Illinois so we know at one point they had headed up that way,” she said.

Detective Ron Brown said many citizens had reported having seen the pair.

“Different folks said that they had seen them,” he said. “These are different individuals in these different locations that said that they actually have seen them in these particular locations.”

Despite the phone calls, police were unable to track down the apparent runaway since many of the sightings were reported outside the city, Brown said.

“If they were sighted out of state somewhere, then of course we’re not there and we send that information to that locality,” he said. “By the time it gets there, (Monica Sharp and Nichols) are just not there at the place they were sighted. They may still be in the area, yes, but they’re not at the location that they were sighted.”

Monica Sharp called her home the weekend of Oct. 22 to say she would be returning home, and Nichols dropped her off. More concerned with making sure their daughter was safe than the apprehension of Nichols, the Sharp family did not immediately call the police.

Nichols, a Canadian national and native of Barbados, was eventually arrested Tuesday morning in a Wal-Mart parking lot and surrendered without incident.

Although Richmond Police were unable to relay specifics on Monica Sharp’s condition due to personal privacy, Price did indicate she was all right.

“We have no indication that there are any health issues,” Price said.

Nicholas Sharp was unable to comment because he was out of town for personal reasons.