Lawrence Taylor was arrested this morning after NYPD received information that the former Dancing With the Stars contestant had raped and assaulted a 16-year-old girl in Room 160 at the Holiday Inn Suffern, in Montebello.
Police indicate that the girl was working as a prostitute, and claims she was paid $300 by Taylor for sex. He was charged with rape in the 3rd degree, commonly called statutory rape. The Class E felony could lead to a 4 year prison sentence. In addition, Lawrence was charged with patronizing a prostitute in the 3rd degree. If convicted, this charge could bring a year behind bars.
The underage prostitute, reportedly a runaway who has been missing from her home in the Bronx since March, sent a text message to her uncle and reported that she had sex with Lawrence Taylor and was traumatized. She gave her uncle the address where she and her pimp were staying and her relative called police.
Officers responded to the address given by the uncle. After questioning the girl, they dispatched officers to arrest Taylor. The girl’s pimp, Rasheed Davis, 36, an ex-con on parole, was later arrested for unlawful imprisonment, assault and endangering the welfare of a minor. He reportedly gave the girl a black eye when she first refused to have sex with Taylor.
The retired NFL Hall of Famer’s lawyer, Kenneth Gribetz, has adamantly denied the allegations brought against his client. Also in Taylor’s corner is his wife Lynette Taylor, who believes that her spouse has been set up.
A hearing was held this afternoon and bail was set at $75,000, prompting Gribetz to call the request “ludicrous”. He also told the judge that his client hadn’t touched a drug in 12 years. He was released from jail at 6:30 p.m. eastern. His next court appearance is scheduled for June 10. See the court hearing video below.
This arrest comes just six months after he was arrested in Florida for leaving the scene of an accident. He has not yet gone to court on that charge.
Taylor’s son Brandon Lawrence Taylor, aka BLT, recently signed a national letter to play with the Purdue Boilermakers.
Developing story…
See Taylor in several DWTS photos and in the video report below:
Photos: WENN and Promo DWTS