Former NFL Player Indicted on Charges of Rape, Child Endangerment
Posted: Thursday, September 23rd, 2010 at 9:54 am
NFL linebacker Lawrence Taylor was indicted this week on charges of rape and endangering the welfare of a child after sexual contact with a 16-year-old, say prosecutors.
Taylor, 51, was arrested at a Holiday Inn in Ramapo, New York on May 6, after allegedly having a sexual encounter with the girl. Authorities from the city, which lies just north of New York City near the New Jersey state line, told reporters that the alleged victim had been brought to the football player’s hotel room by a pimp, and that she was a runaway from the Bronx.
After the incident, which Taylor called consensual, the teenager texted an uncle, who then notified New York City police. Both Taylor and the alleged pimp were arrested shortly thereafter. Ramapo Town Supervisor Christopher St. Lawrence said that Taylor was cooperative during his arrest.
Taylor was released on $75,000 bail the same day, and was not asked to enter a plea. His attorney, Arthur Aidala, speaking to reporters after the bail hearing, said that “no violence, no force, no threat, no weapons” were involved in the case. Aidala also said that the rape charge was for consensual sexual conduct with a minor, and that Taylor denied it.
Indeed, the attorney said, Taylor “is denying and preparing to fight each and every one of those charges.”
Taylor, a 10-time all-pro linebacker for the New York Giants in the 1980s and early 1990s, has seen his share of legal trouble before. He was suspended twice by the NFL for substance abuse, and struggled with an addiction to cocaine after he retired from the sport, leading to several arrests.
No drugs were found in the hotel room. Police did discover a bottle of alcohol, but Taylor did not appear intoxicated, according to police.
The former footballer was indicted on one count of rape in the third degree, one count of criminal sexual acts in the third degree, two counts of sexual abuse in the third degree, one count of endangering the welfare of a child, and one count of patronizing a prostitute in the third degree by the Rockland County district attorney’s office.
The indictment also says that Taylor paid the teenager $300 for the encounter. If he is convicted, he could face up to four years in prison.
Since his retirement from football and recovery from drug abuse, Taylor has worked as a sports commentator, and also appeared on the television show “Dancing With the Stars” in 2009.
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