The Deputy South Yorkshire police and crime commissioner stepped down after a shocking report revealed at least 1,400 children were sexually exploited between 1997 and 2013 in her area.
Tracey Cheetham said she felt "unable to continue" in her role and called from Commissioner Wright to follow her.
She said: "It is vital for people to have confidence in the office of police and crime commissioner and, with this in mind, I believe it would have been the right thing for Shaun Wright to resign."
Mr Wright managed children's services in Rotherham between 2005 and 2010 and since the widespread abuse emerged has ignored repeated calls to resign.
Joyce Thacker, who has been head of Rotherham's children's services since 2008, has also refused to step down despite mounting pressure.
Their defiance comes as Education Secretary Nicky Morgan said she was "appalled" at the abuse exposed.
She announced that Ofsted (Office of Standards in Education) would carry out an early inspection of child protection services in Rotherham.
The Conservative MP added: "I will not hesitate to take further action if necessary to ensure children are safe."
Since revelations of widespread child sex abuse in Rotherham emerged Mr Wright has resigned from the Labour party but not stepped down as police commissioner.
The news comes as officials in Rotherham have been accused of knowing that youngsters were at risk of sexual exploitation almost ten years ago.
However, the predominant view was that the victims were "promiscuous teenagers in consensual relationships", she said.
Her claims put more pressure on Mr Wright, who was Labour cabinet member responsible for children's services while Dr Sharp was in the post in the middle of a 16-year period when 1,400 youngsters suffered wide-scale sexual exploitation including gang rapes, grooming and trafficking.
He has said he was "simply not aware of the scale of the problem" and is refusing to quit his current £85,000 role as South Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner. Today Prime Minister David Cameron added his voice to those calling for Mr Wright to stand down.
Of course he was not aware of the scale of the problem because he refused to look at it!
In a statement, Dr Sharp said: "You can't be a director of children's services and not take responsibility for what happens to children."
She added: "As soon as I commenced in April 2005 as Rotherham's first director of children's services, I was briefed by politicians, senior managers and frontline staff about the issue of sexual exploitation of young people. Meaning, they knew it was happening, at least, by 2005.
"We knew that there were many children in the community at risk and feared that this was the tip of an iceberg. So they closed their eyes and hoped it would go away? I'm seeing a parallel with the captain of the Titanic here.
"Nine years ago, our greatest challenge was to change the predominant view that these young people were 'promiscuous teenagers in consensual relationships', rather than victims of child abuse."
Dr Sharp was among former Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council staff and police officers in the town who were interviewed for a shocking report into the abuse.
The document by Professor Alexis Jay was published earlier this week and revealed the horrific scale of abuse, in which girls as young as 11 were raped by multiple men between 1997 and 2013. They were also beaten and trafficked.
The report also claimed that authorities were reluctant to reveal that the majority of the perpetrators were described as Asian, for fear of being deemed racist. Actually, almost all were Pakistani - you're still doing it!
Dr Sharp spoke as it emerged that South Yorkshire Police currently have 173 "live" investigations into suspected child sexual exploitation.
The number includes 32 probes in Rotherham, a spokeswoman for the force said.
Professor Jay criticised police for "regarding many child victims with contempt".
In the light of the report Rotherham district police commander Chief Superintendent Jason Harwin offered an "unreserved" apology to the victims.
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| Shaun Wright and Tracey Cheetham |
She said: "It is vital for people to have confidence in the office of police and crime commissioner and, with this in mind, I believe it would have been the right thing for Shaun Wright to resign."
Mr Wright managed children's services in Rotherham between 2005 and 2010 and since the widespread abuse emerged has ignored repeated calls to resign.
Joyce Thacker, who has been head of Rotherham's children's services since 2008, has also refused to step down despite mounting pressure.
Their defiance comes as Education Secretary Nicky Morgan said she was "appalled" at the abuse exposed.
She announced that Ofsted (Office of Standards in Education) would carry out an early inspection of child protection services in Rotherham.
The Conservative MP added: "I will not hesitate to take further action if necessary to ensure children are safe."
Since revelations of widespread child sex abuse in Rotherham emerged Mr Wright has resigned from the Labour party but not stepped down as police commissioner.
The news comes as officials in Rotherham have been accused of knowing that youngsters were at risk of sexual exploitation almost ten years ago.
 |
| Joyce Thacker has also refused to step down despite mounting pressure |
Her claims put more pressure on Mr Wright, who was Labour cabinet member responsible for children's services while Dr Sharp was in the post in the middle of a 16-year period when 1,400 youngsters suffered wide-scale sexual exploitation including gang rapes, grooming and trafficking.
He has said he was "simply not aware of the scale of the problem" and is refusing to quit his current £85,000 role as South Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner. Today Prime Minister David Cameron added his voice to those calling for Mr Wright to stand down.
Of course he was not aware of the scale of the problem because he refused to look at it!
In a statement, Dr Sharp said: "You can't be a director of children's services and not take responsibility for what happens to children."
She added: "As soon as I commenced in April 2005 as Rotherham's first director of children's services, I was briefed by politicians, senior managers and frontline staff about the issue of sexual exploitation of young people. Meaning, they knew it was happening, at least, by 2005.
"We knew that there were many children in the community at risk and feared that this was the tip of an iceberg. So they closed their eyes and hoped it would go away? I'm seeing a parallel with the captain of the Titanic here.
Dr Sharp was among former Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council staff and police officers in the town who were interviewed for a shocking report into the abuse.
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| Sonia Sharp, former high-ranking civil servant |
The document by Professor Alexis Jay was published earlier this week and revealed the horrific scale of abuse, in which girls as young as 11 were raped by multiple men between 1997 and 2013. They were also beaten and trafficked.
The report also claimed that authorities were reluctant to reveal that the majority of the perpetrators were described as Asian, for fear of being deemed racist. Actually, almost all were Pakistani - you're still doing it!
Dr Sharp spoke as it emerged that South Yorkshire Police currently have 173 "live" investigations into suspected child sexual exploitation.
The number includes 32 probes in Rotherham, a spokeswoman for the force said.
Professor Jay criticised police for "regarding many child victims with contempt".
In the light of the report Rotherham district police commander Chief Superintendent Jason Harwin offered an "unreserved" apology to the victims.
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