Former Live Oak school aide charged with sex crimes

A woman who worked as a health aide and librarian for the Live Oak Unified School District is charged with sex offenses involving a boy under the age of 18.

Sharon Janelle Souza, 43, of Live Oak, was arraigned Tuesday in Sutter County Superior Court, on a felony charge of oral copulation and misdemeanor child molestation, said deputy district attorney Anu Chopra.

A not guilty plea was entered for Souza and a public defender appointed to represent her.

Bail was set at $50,000 for Souza, who when arraigned asked if she could be released on recognizance and not have to post bail.

“This is pretty serious stuff,” Judge Brian Aronson responded. “I’m not going to release you on your own recognizance.”

If convicted of the felony count Souza would face up to three years in prison. The molestation charge carries a maximum one-year sentence.

A preliminary hearing in the criminal case was set for March 26. The charges against Souza, who was arrested Monday, involve alleged acts by her in late December 2009.

Tom Pritchard, Live Oak Unified superintendent, said Souza is no longer an employee. She worked as a librarian and later as a health aide at different sites in the school district, Pritchard said.

Pritchard said he could not comment on whether the alleged victim attends a Live Oak Unified school.

“The sheriff’s department has done an excellent job in its investigation,” he said. “We place student safety as a high priority.”

Several students leaving Live Oak High said Tuesday they had heard about the allegations, which they said involved a student at the high school.

“Everybody knows about it,” one student said.

Students at Live Oak have asked the alleged victim about the allegations against Souza but he has said little about the matter, said the students, who declined to be identified.

A parent at the school, who also declined to be identified, said Souza was a cheerleading coach at the school. The parent said she was pretty surprised by the charges but has no idea whether Souza is guilty or innocent of them.

Terry Jones, a district trustee, had said in February that he understood an investigation involving a school district employee was underway and that he did not know whether accounts of the employee's actions were “true or false.”

A phone number listed for Souza in a 2008 filing in a civil case is disconnected, and no one answered the door Tuesday at an address for her in Live Oak.