Former NFL player Darren Sharper sentenced to 18 years in prison
More than two years after rape allegations initially surfaced, former NFL safety Darren Sharper has been sentenced to 18 years in prison.
Former NFL safety Darren Sharper faced accusations of drugging and raping women in four states, and he was in a New Orleans court Thursday morning for a sentencing hearing. According to the Associated Press, the 40-year-old has been sentenced to 18 years in prison.
Sharper had pleaded guilty or no-contest to the charges. He was alleged to have drugged and raped women in Louisiana, Arizona, California and Nevada. Prosecutors originally suggested a prison term of nine years, but Judge Jane Triche Milazzo rejected it as too lenient. The 18-year sentence is 15 months shy of the maximum that could be levied for the crime. Sharper was also fined $20,000.
Sharper has admitted to distributing drugs with the intent to commit rape. His two co-defendants, Brandon Licciardi and Erik Nunez, are scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 13.
Sharper played safety in the NFL for 14 seasons, with the Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Viking and New Orleans Saints. He was named All-Pro six times, while earning five Pro Bowl selections and playing in two Super Bowls along the way. After the end of his career in 2011, he worked as a television analyst for a station in New Orleans and then the NFL Network. Once these rape allegations started to surface, Sharper was suspended by the NFL Network and eventually fired.
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On the surface, Sharper seems to be the kind of guy that should have no trouble courting the opposite sex. This is yet another scenario that shows no one really knows their favorite athletes, during or after their careers, and the public facade many of them put forth is covering up a very different personality.