Ex-NFL player Darren Sharper accused of drugging, raping women

Los Angeles County prosecutors said they will ask a judge to increase the bail for a former NFL football player charged with rape to $10 million because he is suspected of raping women in four states: California, Arizona, Nevada and Louisiana.

Darren Sharper, 38, was charged Friday in Los Angeles with two counts of rape by use of drugs and five other drug-related felonies.

Los Angeles County prosecutors allege that Sharper met two women at a West Hollywood nightclub on Oct. 30 and invited them to a party. On the way to the party, Sharper allegedly invited the women to his hotel room and gave them something to drink.

Both women allegedly passed out. One woman said she woke up naked while Sharper was sexually assaulting her. A second woman also told authorities she woke up and “interrupted his action,” according to court documents.

In a separate case, Sharper met two women at the same nightclub on Jan. 14 and invited them to a party.

The pattern, prosecutors said, was the same. Sharper invited them to his room, gave them something to drink, and the women passed out.

When they woke up the next day, one woman thought she had been sexually assaulted. Both women left the hotel and sought medical treatment, prosecutors said.

Sharper was arrested Jan. 17 and released on $200,000 bail. If convicted, he faces more than 30 years in state prison.

Deputy District Atty. Stacy Okun-Wiese is asking a judge to increase Sharper’s bail to $10 million because of allegations made against Sharper in other states.

In September in New Orleans, a woman told authorities she had consumed a large amount of alcohol at several bars before she met Sharper. But she only had a vague recollection of the night.

The woman told police that Sharper took her to his apartment and sexually assaulted her without her consent, according to a report from the New Orleans Police Department.

No charges were filed in that case.

No additional details were immediately available about the allegations in Nevada and Arizona.

Sharper, dressed in a gray suit and white shirt, entered the courtroom in Los Angeles on Friday shortly after it opened about 8:30 a.m. He left roughly 20 minutes later, and as of 9 a.m., his case had not been called before the judge.

A five-time Pro Bowl selection who played for the Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings and New Orleans Saints, Sharper’s latest job was as an analyst for the NFL Network.

kate.mather@latimes.com
Twitter: @katemather