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Former NFL player Darren Sharper has reached a plea deal with the prosecutors who have charged him with drugging and sexually assaulting women in several states: today he pleaded no contest to charges in some of the states and for that he is expected to serve 9 years in prison.Sharper, 39, was charged with drugging and raping numerous women across the country from September 2013 through January 2014. Today, he accepted deals from prosecutors regarding cases in Arizona and Nevada in a Los Angeles court, and he pleaded no contest to allegations in Los Angeles, according to City News Service. Sharper will be transferred to New Orleans to enter a plea for the charges there. His plea deal takes his sentence of 20 years and cuts it in half, plus counts the time he's already spent in jail as time served,the L.A. Times reports. Due to his sentences running concurrently, he is expected to serve a total of nine years in a Louisiana prison, and that will resolve all nine charges in four states. After his release, Sharper will be on probation for life and will have to register as a sex offender.
TMZ calls the sentencing a "miracle" given that he could have faced two life terms for those charges in Nevada alone.
Prosecutors said in court that they felt justice was being served in this case. Sharper's two victims declined to give a statement in court today but a prosecutor said that his victims were pleased that Sharper would be serving time without them having to testify. "Being spared the trauma of having to testify...is tantamount to them," Deputy District Attorney Alison Meyers told the judge, according to City News Service. She added one of the victims is considering seeking restitution.
Sharper was arrested in Los Angeles on January 17, 2014, then released on bail. However, he back in jail after a warrant was issued for his arrest in New Orleans, and a judge in Los Angeles denied Sharper bail.
Each of Sharper's assaults followed a similar pattern. Sharper would invite the victims back to his hotel room and offer them a shot of alcohol that was mixed with Ambien and morphine. After the victims blacked out, Sharper would assault them. Some of the victims woke up during the assaults.
On September 22, 2013, a woman in New Orleans said she met Sharper at a bar, but has no recollection of much beyond accepting a drink from him, Deadspin reports. Later, she said she woke up to find Sharper on top of her, assaulting her.
On November 20, 2013, Sharper met two women at a nightclub in Scottsdale, Arizona. One woman got sick after drinking with him, so Sharper suggested they all go back to her apartment. Once there, the woman's roommate helped the sick woman to bed. Sharper gave the roommate and the friend shots. The roommate went to lie down as the shot made her feel ill, and the friend blacked out. Later, the roommate noticed Sharper on top of the friend, but fell back asleep in her own room shortly after. The next day, the sick woman and the friend both went to get a medical exam for sexual assault.
On October 30, 2013, Sharper met two women at Bootsy Bellows in West Hollywood and invited them to a party. They said he told him he had to stop at his hotel room first and once there, he gave both women a shot. One woman woke up with Sharper on top of her. The other woke up and stopped him.
On January 14, 2014, Sharper met another two women at Bootsy Bellows. Again, the women say he gave them shots laced with drugs. When the women woke up, they felt as though he'd assaulted them, so they both went for a medical exam.
The next day in Las Vegas, Sharper met two women and a man at a night club. He again invited them to his hotel room then offered them shots. The man said he blacked out, then came to in a bar at the hotel. One woman said she woke up in bed with Sharper, who told her she'd gotten sick the night before. He then gave her something to drink, which caused her to black out. When she came to, Sharper was assaulting her. The other woman woke up on the couch and felt as though she'd been assaulted. They both went to get a medical exam.
Sharper had previously played for the Packers, the Vikings and the Saints before retiring from football in 2010. He then worked as an analyst with the NFL Network, but was suspended after his arrest.
