JUDGE REJECTS PLEA DEAL FOR EX-NFL STAR SHARPER
A federal judge rejected a plea deal Thursday in the rape case against former NFL star Darren
Sharper, saying the nine-year sentence didn’t reflect the seriousness of the alleged assaults against as many as 16 women. “This court cannot accept this plea agreement,” U.S. District Judge Jane Triche Milazzo told Sharper as he stood before her in orange prison coveralls and shackles. She gave Sharper and his lawyers until March 3 to decide whether to withdraw a guilty plea he entered last year. Sharper had pleaded guilty as part of a deal involving charges in four states. He also has pleaded guilty or no contest to similar charges in state courts in California, Arizona, Nevada and Louisiana. He was sentenced to eight years in Arizona but awaits formal sentencing in the other jurisdictions. His attorneys declined to comment as they left the courtroom.