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FILE - In this Feb. 20, 2014, file photo, former NFL safety Darren Sharper appears in Los Angeles Superior Court in Los Angeles. Sharper and two other men were indicted Friday, Dec. 12, 2014, on multiple rape allegations in New Orleans , adding to a list of charges and allegations the ex-player faces in several states. AP Photo/Los Angeles Times, Bob Chamberlin, Pool)

Former Saints safety Darren Sharper, 2 others indicted in New Orleans rape cases

NEW ORLEANS – A federal grand jury has added drug charges to the state rape charges facing former New Orleans Saints safety Darren Sharper.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office in New Orleans announced Friday that Sharper now faces charges that he and a co-defendant — Brandon Licciardi — distributed three illegal drugs “with intent to commit rape.”

The federal charges were announced hours after a New Orleans grand jury indicted Sharper, Licciardi and a third man on rape charges.

Sharper is jailed in California on charges that he drugged and raped two women there. He also faces sexual assault charges in Arizona. Similar accusations against Sharper in Las Vegas remain under investigation.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office said Licciardi was in custody. There was no word on when he would make a first court appearance.

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