Former NFL safety Darren Sharper’s plea deal was rejected by a federal judge Thursday in a hearing that had been deferred last fall.
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According to Emily Lane NOLA.com, U.S. District Judge Jane Triche Milazzo deemed the 10-year deal that Sharper previously struck too lenient.
Sharper’s attorney has asked for some time for he and Sharper to decide whether or not to withdraw his guilty plea.
In May 2015, Sharper pleaded guilty to rape-related drug charges in federal court as part of a global plea deal in which he admitted raping nine women in four states.
His attorneys declined comment as they left the courtroom.
Milazzo said the sentencing guidelines called for a range of 188 to 235 months in prison for Sharper, who agreed to serve 108 months under his deal.
Milazzo referenced a pre-sentencing report she is allowed to consider during sentencing that alleges there might have been up to 16 victims between January 2010 and May 2014.
Aaron Wilson covers the Texans for The Houston Chronicle. He still can withdraw them before a March 3 sentencing date that the judge set on Thursday.
“Usually, a federal plea agreement does not bind the judge as much as this one would have”, Tetlow said.
Sharper’s co-defendants, Brandon Licciardi and Erik Nunez, will be tried together.
With the plea deal tossed, “Now he has to go back to the bargaining table”, Foret said, but since he has already pleaded guilty it is unlikely the case will go to trial.
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Licciardi and Nunez have pleaded not guilty to various charges in both federal and state courts in New Orleans, including aggravated rape counts that carry a mandatory life prison term.
