Former NFL safety Sharper sentenced to nine years in prison

Former NFL safety Darren Sharper, after pleading guilty to sexual assault and attempted sexual assault in a plea deal with Arizona prosecutors, was sentenced to nine years in prison.
Sharper, who is accused of drugging and sexually assaulting women in four states, changed his plea on Monday in Phoenix via video-conferencing from Los Angeles, where he remains in jail. Later in the day, Sharper changed his plea in the Los Angeles charges to no contest and another in Louisiana that carries a 20-year jail term.
Sharper reached a "global" plea agreement that aims to bring resolution to all nine formal rape charges across four states.
Sharper has been in a Los Angeles jail since he was arrested on Jan. 17, 2014, on charges that he drugged and raped women. He also has been accused of sexually assaulting three women in New Orleans in 2013 and was indicted in Arizona on charges he drugged three women and sexually assaulted two of them in November 2013.
In Phoenix, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Warren Granville said Sharper will serve his time in federal custody and that the Louisiana case will be resolved through a federal court.
Sharper admitted sexually assaulting one victim in the Arizona case. Police had said Sharper drugged and sexually assaulted three women at an apartment in the Phoenix suburb of Tempe in November.
On Friday, Sharper was charged with rape in Las Vegas. The two sexual assault charges stem from allegations that he forced sex on two women in January 2014 while they were unconscious or otherwise unable to resist or consent.
Sharper played in the NFL for 14 years, with the Minnesota Vikings, the Green Bay Packers and the New Orleans Saints. The five-time Pro Bowl player retired in 2010.