Former New Orleans Saints safety Darren Sharper, a key contributor on the Super Bowl winning team, was arrested Friday on suspicion of rape, this according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.

TMZ.com is citing law enforcement officials in Los Angeles: “he's been linked to 2 sexual assaults...one that occurred in Oct. 2013 and the other in January 2014.”

The 38-year-old Sharper was booked into the L.A. county jail and released on $200,000 bail. A court date has been set for February 14.

Darren Sharper was acquired before the 2009 season by the Saints and helped fuel an opportunistic defense that played a huge part in winning Super Bowl 44. Sharper had nine interceptions that season, three of them returned for touchdowns.

The following season he only played in half of the Saints games and went unsigned after the 2010 season. That was his last year in the NFL.

Sharper was named to five Pro Bowls and was a two-time All-Pro.

Sharper, who played in the NFL with the Vikings, Packers and Saints, currently works for the NFL Network.

UPDATE: Pro Football Talk is reporting that Sharper has been suspended without pay from his job with the NFL Network.

Their statement reads, "“Darren has been suspended without pay until further notice, effective immediately. Regarding the charges, as a matter of policy, we don’t comment on pending legal action.”

 

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