Former NFL Player Darren Sharper Pleads Not Guilty To Rape, Drugging Charges

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — Former NFL safety Darren Sharper pleaded not guilty to charges of drugging and raping two women he met in a West Hollywood nightclub.

The 38-year-old Pro Bowler had been free on $200,000 bail, but his bail was increased to $1 million during his arraignment hearing. Sharper posted the increased amount after the hearing.

Prosecutors had asked for Sharper's bail to be increased to $10 million in light of allegations that he has "committed several offenses against multiple victims in numerous jurisdictions.

In a court declaration, an LAPD investigator wrote that he has reviewed police reports from New Orleans, Las Vegas and Tempe, Ariz. involving similar alleged sexual assaults between September and this January.

Sharper has been charged with two counts of rape by use of drugs, four counts of furnishing a controlled substance and one count of possession of a controlled substance in connection with the Los Angeles crimes. If convicted on all the charges, he faces more than 30 years in state prison, according to the District Attorney's Office.

The charges involved two alleged rapes of women he met at Bootsy Bellows in West Hollywood on Oct. 30 and Jan. 15. Prosecutors say the attacks occurred in a hotel room after Sharper drugged the women with sleep medication zolpidem and morphine.

Sharper was a member of the league's 2000s All-Decade Team and a five-time Pro Bowl selection. He was suspended from his job as an analyst with the NFL Network following his arrest.

Sharper played for the Green Bay Packers in 1997-2004, the Minnesota Vikings in 2005-2008 and New Orleans Saints in 2009-2010. He was part of the Saints team that won Super Bowl XLIV in February 2010.

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