Former NFL and New Orleans Saints safety Darren Sharper had his plea deal for drugging and raping at least nine women in four states rejected by a federal judge on Thursday, which means the onetime Super Bowl-winner may now face up to 20 years in prison, according to Emily Lane of NOLA.com.
Sharper entered a guilty plea in late May of 2015 as part of a "global deal" to resolve the charges that he had drugged and raped nine women in four states between August 2013 and January 2014. He had originally plead not guilty in May to the charges in New Orleans, though the month prior he had plead guilty to charges of sexual assault and attempted sexual assault in Arizona.
On Thursday, U.S. District Judge Jane Triche Milazzo stated that the 10-year sentence, which was included as part of Sharper's plea deal with the government, deviates "too far from federal sentencing guidelines," per Lane.
If those guidelines are now followed more closely, Sharper could face somewhere between 15-20 years in prison. Sharper now has the option to withdraw his guilty plea, which he may do before a sentencing hearing on March 3.
If he doesn't, Milazzo indicated that she was considering imposing a harsher penalty, according to Lane.
