Innocent until proven guilty is the creed by which the American legal justice system was founded. For Darren Sharper, once an NFL All-Pro and consensus “good guy,” the evidence is mounting that he will have a hard time proving he is not guilty of a series of rapes.
On Thursday, Judge Warren Granville of Phoenix denied bail to Sharper, who is being held in a Los Angeles jail after he was accused of participating in an alleged spree of drugging and raping women in multiple states.
He was indicted in Arizona on two counts of sexual assault and three counts of administering dangerous drugs on March 11. On Thursday, in a damning statement, the judge said to USA Today that there was “proof evident and presumption great” that Sharper raped a woman in Tempe on Nov. 21.
Sharper, who starred for the Green Bay Packers and New Orleans Saints, originally was arrested on two counts of rape in Los Angeles. He was able to post bail (even when it was raised to $1 million) but has been incarcerated since Feb. 27, when investigations and charges in multiple states began to surface.
The former NFL star has been held without bail since then.
Had Granville ruled that the prosecution didn’t find “proof evident,” Sharper could have been released.
Judge Renee Korn in Los Angeles will hold a separate hearing on whether to release Sharper on Friday.
