Former Minnesota Vikings safety Darren Sharper has been charged with drugging and raping two women in California, the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office said Friday, via the Pioneer Press.
A statement from the district attorney’s office says Sharper will be arraigned today 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.”
According to the Times-Picayune, Sharper may have followed a similar pattern in both cases. He is accused of inviting the women to his hotel room where he gave them liquid shots possibly drugged with Ambien and morphine.
USA Today says Sharper is suspected of raping a total of seven women in four states (California, Arizona, Nevada, Louisiana), according to a Los Angeles police officer investigating the case.
In January, Sharper was arrested on suspicion of rape in Los Angeles, connected to two reports of sexual assault – one in October of 2013 and another last month. A separate claim against Sharper was reported by WDSU News in New Orleans, where a woman contacted police in September of 2013 claiming she was sexually assaulted by Sharper.
“The NOPD is investigating an allegation of sexual assault filed against Darren Sharper. As with every case alleging sexual assault, information gathered is extremely sensitive and the top priority of the detectives is to protect the person who filed the complaint. Because this is an ongoing criminal investigation, we cannot provide additional information at this time.”
The case in New Orleans remains open and active.
Because Sharper is facing similar allegations in New Orleans, prosecutors in the Los Angeles case want Sharper’s bail increased to $10 million.
Sharper says he had consensual sex with one of the accusers in California, and doesn’t know who the other one is.
The 38-year-old retired from the NFL in 2010 after playing eight seasons in Green Bay (1997-2004), four in Minnesota (2005-2008) and two in New Orleans (2009-2010), where he helped the Saints beat the Vikings in the 2009-10 NFC Championship.
