Making clear that she thought the sentence was a light one, a Louisiana judge Thursday formally imposed a 20-year prison sentence on former NFL star Darren Sharper, who last week was sentenced by a federal judge to 18 years and four months in a drug and rape case with victims in four states.
Defence attorney Billy Gibbens said that the two sentences are essentially the same, when credit for time served and other factors are considered. The sentence follows Sharper's guilty pleas in state and federal courts in New Orleans, and pleas of guilty or no contest to similar charges in Arizona, California and Nevada -- all the result of a multi-jurisdiction plea deal that once called for a sentence of about nine years.
Early this year, U.S. District Judge Jane Triche Milazzo rejected that sentence as too light. She imposed the 18-year, four-month sentence last week.
In state court on Thursday, Judge Karen Herman made clear she thought two decades was a relatively light punishment for the fallen NFL star, calling his behaviour "such an epic disappointment."
Thursday's second sentencing hearing was again punctuated by tearful testimony from victims. One who said she was determined from the time she realized she had been raped in 2013 to see him prosecuted and see him branded as "a serial rapist and a sex offender." She added that, for months, she woke up screaming in the middle of the night because of the ordeal.
Sentenced to nine years already in Arizona, Sharper still faces formal sentencing in California and Nevada. He is expected to serve his sentence in federal custody. Cont.
Story from - CTV News/AP
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