Convicted rapist Darren Sharper sentenced to 20 years in California prison
Former NFL safety Darren Sharper was in a Los Angeles courtroom on Tuesday to be sentenced for drugging and raping two women in the city in 2013. It was Sharper’s final day in court, and gave his victims the opportunity to address him.
The 41-year-old was sentenced to 20 years in prison, but it will be served at the same time as the other sentences Sharper has received for his multi-state raping spree.
In August, a federal judge in Louisiana sentenced Sharper to 18 years in prison, after rejecting the nine-year global resolution sentence prosecutors had offered.
In all, Sharper, a five-time Pro Bowler who spent his 14-year NFL career with the Packers, Vikings and Saints, was accused of drugging and raping a dozen women in Louisiana, Nevada, Arizona and California. He was found guilty of such crimes against nine women.
Sharper was arrested in Los Angeles in January 2014 on suspicion of sexual assault relating to the events of Oct. 30, 2013, when one woman said she met Sharper through a mutual friend; at one point, he asked her to go with him to his hotel room where he said he needed to get something. Once they were there, Sharper poured the woman a drink and was insistent that she drink it, according to the police report.
The next morning, the woman woke up naked, with Sharper on top of her. She felt groggy and could not recall what had happened.
Two different women told Los Angeles police a similar story a couple of months later: they met Sharper while at a club, he asked them to come to his hotel room, and he made them drinks that he insisted they consume. The women quickly blacked out, and could not remember anything when they woke up the next morning.
Once Sharper was arrested in L.A., more women came forward, all with stories that followed a similar pattern, to accuse the former NFL Network personality of assaulting them.
