Serial Rapist Darren Sharper Might Serve Just 9 Years [Updated]

As expected, the plea deals are rolling in for accused serial rapist Darren Sharper, and so far the sentences seem fairly light. But we won't know how long Sharper will spend in prison until he officially pleads in all five jurisdictions, because he'll functionally serve only the longest of his five sentences.

In Arizona, Sharper pleaded guilty to sexual assault and attempted sexual assault; he was sentenced to nine years in prison, the . In Nevada, Sharper pleaded guilty to one felony count of attempted sexual assault and will serve up to eight years in prison, the Los Angeles Times. In California, he pleaded no contest to raping and drugging two women in Los Angeles and was expected to serve nine years in prison, the .

The sentences in Arizona, Nevada, and California will be concurrent, meaning they'll run simultaneously. Stephen Ceasar with the Times outlined how Sharper's deal transformed a possible 33 years in California into nine.

In New Orleans, the official details of Sharper's plea haven't been released—TMZ said they will be announced tomorrow—but the New Orleans Advocate and the Times-Picayune both reported that a source said said Sharper will plead guilty to two counts of forcible rape and a count of simple rape, and serve a 20-year prison sentence. When it comes to sentencing, though, a 20-year sentence doesn't always mean serving 20 years. Until all the terms are announced, it's possible New Orleans will turn out like Los Angeles. From the Times:

Until the decision in New Orleans becomes official, this sounds like not a lot of time for a man accused of serially drugging and raping women across the country. It doesn't help that in LA, both the defense lawyers and the prosecutors declined to talk to reporters afterward. There is one case left where news hasn't leaked—the federal drug case against Sharper—and perhaps federal prosecutors have saved some last-minute fire for the former football player. But so far it's a pretty bleak pattern, and going off what we know, it looks like it will be nine years, at most, in federal prison for Sharper.

This is a story that keeps changing as details comes out, and we'll update as more information becomes available.

Update: The Advocate and TMZ now report that Sharper will serve just nine years for his New Orleans rape charges, which falls in line with what the other states have done. The headline has been changed to reflect this update.

TMZ adds that after nine years Sharper will "get credit for the remaining 11 while free on probation." As for the federal drug charges, Sharper's lawyer told the Advocate on Friday that this deal will resolve those as well.

Image via Associated Press