Darren Sharper sentenced to 20 years

Former NFL safety Darren Sharper received a 20-year sentence Thursday for his guilty plea regarding the drugging and raping of three women in New Orleans in 2013.

The punishment on state charges, announced by Judge Karen Herman in New Orleans Criminal District Court, will be served simultaneously to the 18-year sentence Sharper received last week on federal charges related to similar offenses in Louisiana, California, Nevada and Arizona.

At Thursday's hearing, one of his victims said to Sharper, "You have a sickness, and you deserve much more punishment than you have received, I am sure."

The judge agreed, saying, "I find this sentence to be woefully inadequate. Had you been convicted by a jury of your peers, you would not be getting the sentence you are getting."

Herman added that she accepted the plea deal only to avoid a lengthy trial that would cause more hardship for the victims.

Sharper, 40, told the court, "There's a lot more to my life than this situation. I am not a monster. I am not."

Sharper, a five-time Pro Bowl safety, was previously sentenced to nine years in Arizona for similar offenses. He previously agreed to implicate his two named accomplices, Brandon Licciardi and Erik Nunez. Both men confessed to being party to the three sexual assaults in Louisiana.

In an NFL career that ran from 1997-2010, Sharper had 63 interceptions, eighth-most in NFL history. He ranks second in league history with 11 interception returns for touchdowns, and won a Super Bowl with the New Orleans Saints in February 2010.