Former NFL Star Darren Sharper Pleads Not Guilty

We may earn a commission from links on this page.

Former football star Darren Sharper entered a not-guilty plea on Thursday during his arraignment on allegations that he drugged and raped two women in Los Angeles in a string of crimes spanning four other states, Reuters reports.  

Sharper, who became an on-air commentator for the NFL Network after hanging up his jersey, was suspended without pay following his January arrest. He is accused of drugging women with the prescription sleep drug zolpidem and raping them.

According to court documents, in October he brought two women back to a Los Angeles hotel room, drugging both of them before raping one. He repeated the offense in January on another pair of women, prosecutors claimed, Reuters notes.

"He's a danger to the women in our community. He preys on women between 20 and 23 years old. It's the same story in every single case," Los Angeles Deputy District Attorney Stacy Okun-Wiese told the court.

Advertisement

The prosecution had originally wanted to hold the sports star on a $10 million bond, citing other, similar allegations against him in Louisiana, Nevada, Arizona and Florida, although no charges have been brought forward in those cases.

Advertisement

The judge ruled the request excessive but did raise the original $200,000 bail to $1 million.

Advertisement

Read more at the Raw Story.