Disgraced NFL star loses bid to undo plea deal in rape case

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Disgraced NFL star Darren Sharper’s attempt to get out of a 2016 plea deal in a sexual assault case has been rejected by a federal judge.

Attorneys for Sharper argued in a motion filed last year that he was not adequately advised by his previous lawyers on the consequences of his 2016 guilty plea. That plea resulted in an 18-year federal sentence. The case arose from allegations that Sharper drugged and sexually assaulted as many as 16 women in four states.

U.S. District Judge Jane Triche Milazzo denied the motion in an order signed Wednesday. Milazzo noted in written reasons that the former New Orleans Saints player had twice said in open court that he understood the terms of his plea agreement.