Former NFL safety Darren Sharper arrested on suspicion of rape, faces multiple investigations

Darren Sharper was taken into custody on Friday. (Donald Miralle/Getty Images) Former NFL safety and current NFL Network analyst Darren Sharper was taken into

Doug Farrar | Jan 18, 2014

Former NFL safety Darren Sharper arrested on suspicion of rape, faces multiple investigations /

Darren Sharper was taken into custody on Friday. (Donald Miralle/Getty Images)

Former NFL safety and current NFL Network analyst Darren Sharper was taken into custody in Los Angeles on Friday evening. Sharper was arrested on sexual assault charges, as first reported by TMZ and confirmed by Pro Football Talk. The L.A. County Sherriff's Department website lists Sharper as having been arrested at 3:00 p.m. PST and booked two hours later. Bail had been set and was posted at $200,000. Sharper is due in Los Angeles Municipal Court on Feb. 14.

On Saturday morning, the NFL Network announced that it had suspended Sharper without pay indefinitely, and with no further comment.

According to TMZ, Sharper has been linked to two sexual assaults -- one in Oct., 2013, and the other in Jan., 2014. No additional information on these alleged incidents has been released.

In addition, per the website for New Orleans television station WWL-TV, the New Orleans Police Department is investigating a Sept. 24, 2013 sexual assault complaint against Sharper. The incident allegedly occurred in the city's Warehouse District.

"New Orleans police received a complaint from an alleged victim," said District Attorney spokesman Chris Bowman. "The police referred the case to our office for consultation. The matter is currently under investigation and we will make no further comment on any matter under investigation."

Published Jan 18, 2014

DOUG FARRAR

SI.com contributing NFL writer and Seattle resident Doug Farrar started writing about football locally in 2002, and became Football Outsiders' West Coast NFL guy in 2006. He was fascinated by FO's idea to combine Bill James with Dr. Z, and wrote for the site for six years. He wrote a game-tape column called "Cover-2" for a number of years, and contributed to six editions of "Pro Football Prospectus" and the "Football Outsiders Almanac." In 2009, Doug was invited to join Yahoo Sports' NFL team, and covered Senior Bowls, scouting combines, Super Bowls, and all sorts of other things for Yahoo Sports and the Shutdown Corner blog through June, 2013. Doug received the proverbial offer he couldn't refuse from SI.com in 2013, and that was that. Doug has also written for the Seattle Times, the Washington Post, the New York Sun, FOX Sports, ESPN.com, and ESPN The Magazine. He also makes regular appearances on several local and national radio shows, and has hosted several podcasts over the years. He counts Dan Jenkins, Thomas Boswell, Frank Deford, Ralph Wiley, Peter King, and Bill Simmons as the writers who made him want to do this for a living. In his rare off-time, Doug can be found reading, hiking, working out, searching for new Hendrix, Who, and MC5 bootlegs, and wondering if the Mariners will ever be good again.