One year ago, Congress defunded public media. Now that we're 100% community funded, please become a sustaining member or increase your existing membership today.
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
Ex-NFL Star Darren Sharper Sentenced To 20 Years For Drugging And Raping Two Women In West Hollywood
Darren Sharper (Getty Images)
Former NFL safety Darren Sharper was sentenced Tuesday to 20 years in prison for drugging and raping women in two separate incidents at the same West Hollywood club. City News Service reports that Sharper will serve the 20-year sentence concurrently with a sentence he is already serving in Louisiana for similar crimes in several states.
The serial rapist, who had previously played for the Packers, the Vikings and the Saints before retiring from football in 2010, had previously accepted deals on charges of raping women in Arizona and Nevada, as well as in Louisiana. According to the L.A. Times, Sharper was accused of attacking more than a dozen women across the nation.
One of Sharper's victims told a downtown courtroom on Tuesday that the assault has left her in psychological anguish. “I have lost every bit of self confidence I’ve ever had and am always in fear while alone. It doesn’t matter whether it’s day or night, I can see a guy and automatically in my head think, ‘What if this guy tries to rape me?’” she said, according to the L.A. Times.
One year ago, Congress voted to defund public media, eliminating a critical $1.7 million from our budget every year going forward. But they couldn’t silence us, and we’re not going anywhere. LAist is now 100% community funded and that means we’re taking our future into our own hands and turning to you to keep local reporting strong.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
