Darren Sharper, the 14-year NFL defensive back and five-time Pro Bowler has been charged with raping drugging and raping two women in California and is a suspect in similar cases in Arizona, Nevada and Louisiana, USA TODAY Sports reported Friday.
The Los Angeles District Attorney's office suspects the 38-year-old Sharper of raping seven women in four states, all after he laced their drinks with drugs, according to a court document submitted by a Los Angeles police officer who was assigned to the case, according to USA TODAY Sports.
Sharper also is being accused of drugging additional people who were with the women, the officer reported. The total number of drugging charges is 11, all of which took place since September.
Yahoo! Sports reported that Sharper appeared in Los Angeles Superior Court on Friday to address the allegations in connection with the two women in California , which prosecutors said occurred in October and January, but he did not enter a plea.
Sharper was released on a $200,000 bond and will be arraigned on Thursday. According to USA TODAY Sports, the district attorney requested that his bail be set at $10 million to include the cases in the other states.
The charges include two counts of rape by use of drugs, four counts of furnishing illegal drugs and one count of illegal drug possession, all felonies. The drugs allegedly involved were zolpidem, known by the brand name Ambien, which is a sedative, and morphine, a narcotic painkiller. The drugs were put in shot glasses in separate incidents on Oct. 30 and Jan. 14. The other cases in Las Vegas, New Orleans and Tempe remain under investigation, USA TODAY Sports reports.
Sharper was arrested on Jan. 17; he was released on bond. Prosecutors filed formal charges against Sharper on Friday.
According to Yahoo! Sports, celebrity defense lawyer Blair Berk, whose clientele list includes Kiefer Sutherland, Queen Latifah and Mel Gibson, is representing Sharper and has stated that her latest client is innocent.
"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," she told reporters outside the court, as Yahoo! Sports reported.
Sharper spent most of his career with the Green Bay Packers but won a Super Bowl with the New Orleans Saints for the 2009 season before retiring a year later.
He worked as an analyst for the NFL Network, which suspended him after his arrest.
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