Serial rape suspect Sharper promoted women's safety

• Former NFL safety suspected of serial date rape had a history of advocating for women%27s health and safety
• He made a star appearance at a breast cancer awareness event on same the day an alleged victim went to the hospital
• He faces felony charges in Los Angeles and is under investigation in three other states

Former NFL star Darren Sharper once felt so strongly about violence against women that he wrote an essay about it for a book in 2010. He lamented how women are "undervalued and exploited," saying that as a father he felt compelled to speak up.

"Money cannot buy the women we love everyday security, which men take for granted," Sharper wrote in the book. "So, it's going to take strong, accountable men to educate young boys and influence other men to deal with women respectfully, honorably and fairly at all times."

Four years later, Sharper, 38, is scheduled to appear in a Los Angeles courtroom Thursday on charges that he raped two women after giving them drinks laced with a sedative to knock them out. Sharper posted $200,000 bail after he was arrested on Jan. 17, but prosecutors in Los Angeles will ask a judge to raise Sharper's bail to $10 million, noting that Sharper is under investigation for seven rapes and 11 druggings in four states. Sharper faces up to 30 years in prison for the Los Angeles charges alone.

The essay was not the only occasion in which women's health and safety became a personal cause for Sharper, who authorities now suspect of being a serial date rapist. On Sept. 22, Sharper sent a message on Twitter to promote a women's football camp near Slidell, La., which he was to attend two days later with New Orleans Saints receiver Lance Moore.

According to court documents, the alleged rape victim in Louisiana met Sharper at an event for Saints players the same day he sent the tweet. After the event, she accompanied Sharper to a bar and consumed a drink that Sharper gave her. Her next memory is waking up the next day with Sharper on top of her sexually assaulting her, the records show.

The woman went to the hospital for a sexual assault examination on Sept. 24., the day Sharper was a star attendee at the football camp for women, intended to raise breast cancer awareness. A promotional poster for the event said, "Let's Get Physical" and it advertised "Get Crunk Cocktail Hours."

According to court records, a swab taken from the alleged victim during her exam showed the presence of Sharper's DNA.

Police say all of the rape cases follow a similar pattern. Sharper allegedly provided women with drinks and then raped them while they were unconscious. The cases involving the other five alleged victims are still under investigation in Las Vegas, New Orleans and Tempe, Ariz.

It's a potentially stunning downfall for a star former NFL player who has a history of advocating for women's health and safety. In 2010, he contributed to the book titled NFL Dads Dedicated to Daughters, a collaboration spearheaded by a national violence prevention organization called A Call to Men. The organization's mission is to make the world safer for women.

In the book, the organization's co-founder, Tony Porter, said he had recently worked with 20 NFL teams to help develop players' life skills.

"It was the men who had daughters who impressed me the most, in part because of their sincere desire and commitment to being role models, to holding each other accountable, and to inspiring men in their communities to being better fathers, husbands, partners and friends," Porter wrote.

Porter said this inspired the book in which several players participated with short essays about their daughters.

Sharper was one of them. He spoke of his daughter, now about 16 years old.

"As my first born, she is definitely special, and I am thankful for the positive influence she has had on me," Sharper wrote in the book. "Sacrificing for her instilled selflessness in me that I know I wouldn't have gotten any other way. Playing football can be glamorous at times, but being a father keeps me humble… My daughter makes (me) mindful of how women are treated, undervalued and exploited, which is why I felt compelled to take advantage of this opportunity to speak up about domestic violence. "

Porter didn't respond to a message from USA TODAY Sports seeking comment about Sharper's participation in the project. Sharper's attorney, Blair Berk, said last week she looked forward to the facts being revealed in this case and was hopeful of Sharper being exonerated.

Sharper, a former safety, played 14 seasons in the NFL and was a star on the New Orleans Saints team that won the Super Bowl after the 2009 season.

After the alleged incident in New Orleans, the next alleged rape occurred on Oct. 30, when Sharper met two women at a club in West Hollywood, court documents show. He later asked them to come to his hotel room, where he offered them a drink. Within minutes, both girls said they passed out, according to court documents. Several hours later, one woman woke up later with Sharper sexually assaulting her, the documents state. The other woman woke up on the sofa and entered Sharper's room, "interrupting his actions," the document states.

The next day, Sharper was on Twitter promoting another women's football camp to raise breast cancer awareness. His tweet on Oct. 31 said, "Get your tix! You will be touched in many ways."

Follow Brent Schrotenboer @Twitter. E-mail: bschrotenb@usatoday.com