Former NFL safety Darren Sharper was charged today with drugging and raping two women he allegedly met at Bootsy Bellows in West Hollywood, and police suspect he may have carried out similar crimes in three other states.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Roberto Longoria allowed the 38-year-old former football player to remain free on $200,000 bail posted on his behalf following his arrest Jan. 17 by Los Angeles police.
The judge said Sharper will have to surrender his passport to LAPD Robbery-Homicide detectives, stay away from Bootsy Bellows and stay at a hotel in Los Angeles. The judge did not immediately address the prosecution’s motion to have Sharper’s bail 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 investigating officer wrote that he has reviewed police reports from New Orleans, Las Vegas and Tempe, Ariz., involving similar alleged sexual assaults in those jurisdictions. Sharper is due back in Los Angeles Superior Court for arraignment next Thursday on two counts of rape by use of drugs, four counts of furnishing a controlled substance and one count of possession of a controlled substance. The felony charges involve an alleged rape of a woman he met at Bootsy Bellows, which is at 9229 Sunset Blvd. near Doheny Road, on Oct. 30, 2013, and an alleged rape of another woman he met at the same club Jan. 14. The alleged attacks occurred in a hotel room, prosecutors said.
Sharper — a member of the league’s 2000s All-Decade Team and a five-time Pro Bowl selection, was suspended from his job as an analyst with the NFL Network following his arrest last month. Sharper played for the Green Bay Packers in 1997-2004, the Minnesota Vikings in 2005-2008 and New Orleans Saints in 2009-2010. Sharper was part of the Saints team that won Super Bowl XLIV in February 2010.
Outside court, defense attorney Blair Berk told reporters, “We look forward to the true facts being revealed in this case and we are hopeful that Mr. Sharper will be fully exonerated before this case is concluded.”
