Lincoln County woman pleads guilty to child abuse

In the Lincoln County Circuit Court Monday, the mother of several adopted children pleaded guilty to three counts of child abuse.One case involved one who disappeared for for more than seven hours, triggering a massive search.

The woman, Sharon Wilkerson, 55, of Lakota Acres, entered the pleas before Circuit Judge Chris Kunza Mennemeyer as part of a deal with prosecutors. In the exchange for the guilty pleas, she got a suspended imposition of a seven-year sentence and will serve 120 days of ‘shock time’

As part of the agreement, several other charges were not pursued by the prosecution.

The charges involved one of Wilkerson’s adopted daughters and a foster child, authorities said. According to court documents, Wilkerson beat the girls with various instruments. The abuse happened in 2010 and 2011.

The daughter, who was 10 in 2010, disappeared in October of that year for more than seven hours. When she returned, she told reporters that she left home to go for a walk with the family dog and he started chasing squirrels. She got lost, she said, and spent part of her time away taking a nap. She returned home on her own.

At the time, her father, Tom Wilkerson, said four of their children were adopted and suffered the side effects of fetal alcohol syndrome. The children were home-schooled.

Attorney Scott Rosenblum represented Wilkerson.

The children are no longer living with the Wilkersons