Homeschooling’s 

Invisible Children

10 Children of Odalis Sharp

Content note: Case narratives include descriptions of severe violence inflicted on children, including abuse and neglect, sexual violence, torture, and murder, as well as mentions of suicide and domestic violence. They also include photos of victims and perpetrators of violence.

Odalis Sharp and several of her children sing outside the federal courthouse Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2016. The Sharps were there to support Ammon Bundy and other defendants who have pleaded not guilty to a federal conspiracy charge related to the armed takeover of an Oregon wildlife refuge. (Beth Nakamura/The Oregonian via AP) MAGS OUT; TV OUT; NO LOCAL INTERNET; THE MERCURY OUT; WILLAMETTE WEEK OUT; PAMPLIN MEDIA GROUP OUT; MANDATORY CREDIT
Caleb Vasquez (b. 1996) and seven of his nine younger half-siblings were starved and beaten by their mother, Odalis Sharp. All the children were homeschooled.

In 2011, Caleb was removed from the home of Odalis Sharp and her husband Tim Sharp after Caleb ran away following a punishment where he was fed only bread and water for two weeks. In 2012 the couple divorced. In January 2016 Odalis drove seven of the children, whom she marketed as the Sharp Family Singers, to perform for and support the 41-day occupation by armed militants at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon. They were met there by her 18-year-old daughter Victoria Sharp, who had recently left home, and who witnessed the death of one of the militants. Following these events, social services received three reports that the Sharp children left at home were being abused. In April 2016, five of the children hid Odalis’s guns and ran away from home, where they were met by a neighbor who drove them to the sheriff’s office. They reported emotional and physical abuse involving intense beatings with an implement that caused bruising and bleeding, as well as being forced to eat soap and called names. These five children, plus an infant and a 17-year-old girl who had recently left home to move in with her father, were taken into state custody. (Caleb, Victoria, and one other sibling were legal adults by this point.)

Odalis Sharp was arrested for assaulting an officer and is being held until further charges can be filed.

Date: April 29, 2016
Location:
Auburn, Kansas

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Documents: Date:
Mom accused of child abuse hauls seven kids to Oregon for surreal performance before armed militants 01-26-2016
The new face of the patriot movement is a Kansas-raised teenager 03-01-2016
Matriarch Behind Band That Serenaded Bundys Arrested For Assaulting Cops 05-03-2016
Odalis Sharp, Topeka-area singer who went with kids to Oregon standoff, arrested 05-03-2016
Children fled with Kansas mom’s guns while she showered, testimony says 05-04-2016