Darren Sharper pleads guilty to drugging women with intent to rape
Former NFL safety Darren Sharper pleaded guilty in a New Orleans federal court on Friday to three counts of conspiracy to distribute drugs with the intent to commit rape, reports the New Orleans Advocate.
Authorities charged Sharper and another man with distributing the drugs alprazolam, diazepam and zolpidem—more commonly known by the brand names Xanax, Valium and Ambien, respectively—with the intent to commit rape.
Sharper has already pleaded guilty to state charges in Nevada and Arizona and no-contest in California as part of a global plea deal that will call for him to spend the next nine years in prison for drugging and sexually assaulting women in those states.
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Sharper has been in jail since February 2014 after he was arrested in Los Angeles following the first rape allegations.
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Sharper is expected to plead guilty to two counts of aggravated rape and one count of simple rape in Louisiana state court on June 15, stemming from two separate incidents in September 2013 involving three women. That case was delayed until the resolution of the federal case.
Sharper, 39, played 14 seasons in the NFL with the Packers, Vikings and Saints. He was a five-time Pro Bowl defender and two-time first-team All-Pro selection.
He was employed as an analyst for NFL Network before he was fired when the rape allegations surfaced.
- Scooby Axson
