Ex-NFL player Sharper gets 9 years in Arizona sex assault
PHOENIX (AP) — Former NFL All-Pro safety Darren Sharper was sentenced to nine years in federal prison today immediately after he pleaded guilty to sexual assault in Arizona, marking the first change of plea of the day for the former safety accused of drugging and assaulting women in four states.
Sharper admitted sexually assaulting one woman and trying to attack another in suburban Phoenix in 2013. It is unusual to sentence defendants immediately after a guilty plea, which normally can take weeks or months.
Sharper appeared in a Phoenix courtroom by video-conferencing from Los Angeles. He also is expected to change his plea on similar allegations in that city, where he has been jailed since February 2014 after pleading not guilty to drugging and raping two women there in 2013.
Similar hearings will follow in Las Vegas this week and in New Orleans in the next month. In each state, he's accused of drugging and sexually assaulting women when they were unconscious or otherwise unable to resist or consent.
Sharper's attorney announced Friday the former player reached plea agreements with prosecutors in all the cases against him.
The 39-year-old retired from the NFL in 2011 after winning a Super Bowl with the New Orleans Saints. He had a 14-year career with three teams and later worked as an analyst for the NFL network.