LOS ANGELES (AP) – Removing any doubt that he drugged and raped women, Former NFL star Darren Sharper has taken the first of several steps to own up to sexual assaults in four states that will send him to prison for about nine years.
In two separate court cases, Sharper pleaded guilty to sexual assault in Arizona and no contest in California to raping two women he knocked out with a potent sedative mixed with booze.
On Tuesday, he’s scheduled to make a similar plea via video conference in Nevada.
Sharper, 39, wearing a striped, light blue suit, said in court Monday that it was in his best interest to enter the pleas.
The pleas came as Los Angeles prosecutors were prepared to present evidence of Sharper’s fall from grace as a former all-pro safety who won a Super Bowl with the New Orleans Saints. His clean-cut reputation took a hit 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.