Darren Sharper pleads guilty to raping three women
Former New Orleans Saints safety Darren Sharper pleaded guilty on Monday to drugging and sexually assaulting three women in New Orleans, reports the New Orleans Times-Picayune.
Sharper pleaded guilty in Louisiana state court to two counts of forcible rape for drugging and assaulting two women and one count of simple rape stemming from two separate incidents in August and September 2013 involving three women.
"This court has not made any promises related to diminution of sentence," Judge Karen Herman said.
Sharper's guilty pleas are supposed to be the final step in a "global plea deal," in which Sharper agreed to resolve charges against him in four states related to sexual assault allegations made by at least nine women. He has already pleaded guilty to state charges in Nevada and Arizona and pleaded no-contest in California as part of the deal that would call for him to spend at least the next nine years in prison.
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Sharper faced up to 25 years in prison for simple rape, and five to 40 years on the forcible rape charge, but was sentenced to 20 years.
Sharper is also set to receive a 20-year sentence on his California plea deal for two counts of rape of an intoxicated victim and four counts of furnishing the women with a controlled substance.
According to the paper, Sharper will serve 101 months in a federal facility, and the remaining balance of his California sentence will be served in a facility in that state.
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He also will serve a lifetime of probation administered by the state of Arizona. Sharper will also be forced to testify about any knowledge he has about other similar crimes.
Among the conditions of his probation, Sharper must avoid alcohol, bars and liquor stores for the rest of his life. He cannot travel from home more than 50 miles without approval, must submit to lie detector tests and to the “penile plethysmograph,” which gauges arousal.
Last month, Sharper pleaded guilty in federal court to three counts of conspiracy to distribute drugs (Xanax, Valium and Ambien) with the intent to commit rape. His sentencing in that case was pushed back until Aug. 20.
The 39-year-old Sharper has been in jail since February 2014 after he was arrested in Los Angeles following the first rape allegations. Sharper 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
