Former NFL star Darren Sharper told a Las Vegas judge on Tuesday that he'll plead guilty to a felony attempted sex assault charge, in what his lawyers said will be the third part of a plea deal that will send him to federal prison for about nine years for drugging and raping women in four states.
Sharper, 39, wore an orange jail uniform with "LA County" stamped over his chest pocket as he appeared through an Internet hookup from a Los Angeles courtroom. One of his Las Vegas lawyers, Richard Schonfeld, appeared on his behalf before a Las Vegas Justice of the Peace.
Sharper, 39, wore an orange jail uniform with "LA County" stamped over his chest pocket as he appeared through an Internet hookup from a Los Angeles courtroom. One of his Las Vegas lawyers, Richard Schonfeld, appeared on his behalf before a Las Vegas Justice of the Peace.
 |
| Ex-Saints star Darren Sharper pleads guilty in Vegas sex assault case |
"Yes, your honor," the former all-pro safety responded when Judge Janiece Marshall asked Sharper if he wanted to waive a preliminary hearing of evidence and take his case straight to state court later Tuesday.
As The Time Picayume wrote, the proceedings followed separate steps Monday -- again using an Internet service -- when Sharper pleaded guilty to sexual assault in Arizona and no contest in California to raping two women he drugged into unconsciousness.
The interwoven plea deals mean Sharper's expected sentence in Nevada of 38 months to 8 years in prison will be served concurrently with sentences from Los Angeles, Phoenix and New Orleans.
He was sentenced to nine years in the Arizona case and will face 20 years in the California case when he is sentenced July 15. The California no-contest pleas have the same effect as a conviction.
Because Sharper will get credit for 13 months spent in a California jail, and because that state only requires serving half a prison term, lawyers said he'll serve about nine more years.
Sharper is expected to face a hearing in New Orleans within the next month.
He could have faced 20 years to life in Nevada state prison on two sexual assault charges filed against him last week in Las Vegas. Sharper was accused of raping raped two tourists in January 2014 while the women were incapable of resisting.
The allegations that Sharper went club-hopping with the women and took them to his room at a Las Vegas Strip hotel -- where he drugged and sexually assaulted them while they were unconscious -- were similar to the allegations made against Sharper in California, Arizona and Louisiana.
Sharper retired in 2011 after a 14-year NFL career as an all-pro safety for the Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings and New Orleans Saints. He won a Super Bowl in New Orleans.
He was working as an NFL network analyst when women began telling police in several cities similar stories of blacking out while drinking with him and waking up groggy to find they had been sexually abused.
His arrest came as the league dealt with off-field problems with players accused of crimes ranging from spousal abuse to murder.
