Darren Sharper accepts sexual assault plea deal, will serve jail time

Darren Sharper sentenced to nine years in jail after guilty plea to sexual assault in Arizona.

Former NFL safety Darren Sharper pleaded guilty to sexual assault in Arizona on Monday and was sentenced to nine years in federal prison, reports the Associated Press.

Sharper was accused of sexual assaults in four states, and on Friday he agreed to plead guilty in all four cases. He entered his plea in the Arizona case via video conference from Los Angeles, where he has been in prison since February 2014 after being accused of drugging and raping two women at a nightclub in 2013. Sharper also pleaded no contest to sexual assault charges in Los Angeles on Monday.

As a result of his plea deal in Los Angeles, Sharper will be forced to serve 50 percent of a 20-year sentence that, with credit for time served, will be about nine years.

Sharper could face 20 years in New Orleans on two counts of forcible rape and one count of simple rape, reportsThe New Orleans Advocate. He could reportedly serve the sentences in Arizona, Nevada and California concurrently.

Sharper also agreed to plead guilty in Las Vegas to two counts of rape for allegedly sexually assaulting two women in January 2014. He is scheduled to formally enter his guilty plea in Nevada on Tuesday. Steve Wolfson, a district attorney in Clark County, Nev., told the Associated Press last week that Sharper would face between 38 months and eight years in prison after his plea.

Sharper played 14 seasons in the NFL, with the Packers, Vikings and Saints. He was a five-time Pro Bowl defender and two-time first-team All-Pro selection. He was employed as an analyst for the NFL Network and was fired when the rape allegations surfaced.

- Scooby Axson and Mike Fiammetta