LT, Say It Aint So!

According to The Journal News, Hall of Fame linebacker Lawrence Taylor has been arrested and is under investigation for the rape of a 16-year old runaway girl at a Holiday Inn Hotel in Ramapo New York.

From the press release:

“Approximately 3:54am on today’s date, May 6th, this department (Ramapo, NY) received a call from the NYPD in reference to a possible rape that may have occurred in the Holidome (Holiday Inn), which is located in the village of Montebello within the confines of the town of Ramapo. The officers responded, they interviewed and investigated the individual that answered the door, who identified himself as Mr. Lawrence Taylor. Subsequent investigation LT was charged with rape in the third degree. It’s an ‘E’ felony. Rape in the third degree states, ‘a being 24 in years or more engages in sexual intercourse with another person under the age of 17. A being 21 years old or more engages in sexual intercourse with a person that is less than 17 years of age.’ Rape-3, as I mentioned before, is a Class-E felony, punishable with confinement to a state prison with a term not to exceed four years. Mr. Taylor is also charged with patronizing a prostitute in the third degree. The law states, ‘a person is guilty of patronizing a prostitute when being over 21 years of age patronizes a prostitute and that prostitute is under 17 years of age.’ The investigation indicates that Mr. Taylor engaged in sexual intercourse with a child less than 17, for which he paid the victim $300. As the (police) supervisor mentioned, the victim is alleged to be 16 years of age. She was reported missing to the NYPD in March of this year. Mr. Taylor gave the arresting officers an address 532 Onclave Circle, Pembroke Pines FL. This is an ongoing investigation and we are working in conjunction with the NYPD.”

Peter Brower, Ramapo’s chief of police, when asked about the victim’s age in accordance with the crime, said that “ignorance is not an excuse” when it comes to sexual crimes. He also said there was no trace of drugs, but there was alcohol in the room and L.T. did not appear intoxicated. Brower also explained that LT was “very cooperative and he was very concerned about any allegations of injury to the victim and we have no evidence to indicate that he caused any injury to the victim.”

Wow. Where do you go with this? Anybody who is surprised that Lawrence Taylor has put himself in this situation obviously hasn’t followed his career, post-career or life in general that closely. LT has been in and out of trouble since his retirement, with many of his run-ins stemming from the use of drugs and alcohol. None of his prior arrests have been a result of a violent crime and this doesn’t seem to be one either. The allegation of ‘rape’ in this case stems from the age of the prostitute and it doesn’t seem as though the victim was forced to do anything against her will. None of that makes this an excusable offense, by any means, just facts.

We’ll follow this sad, mess of a story as more information comes out.