Former Giants linebacker Lawrence Taylor was arrested early this morning and will be charged with third-degree rape involving a 15-year-old girl at a hotel in Montebello, N.Y., according to police.
The Journal News reported that the victim was a runaway from the Bronx who was brought to the Holiday Inn by a pimp, according to Ramapo police supervisor Christopher St. Lawrence. She was treated at a hospital.
“She was a runaway since March and there was a pimp involved,” St. Lawrence told the Journal News. “She got punched in the face. We’re not sure who did it.”
The police have scheduled a news conference for 3 p.m. to discuss the case and have said Taylor will be arraigned on third-degree rape charges this afternoon because the victim is a minor.
Taylor, 51, lists his residences as Pembroke Pines, Fla., but also owns a home in northern New Jersey.
Taylor, who was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1999 and is considered one of the best defensive players of all time, had a 13-year career for the Giants that was marred by problems with drug and alcohol. He was suspended several times by the N.F.L. and was arrested multiple times for drug possession. In the past few years, Taylor has re-emerged as a public personality, including on N.F.L. broadcasts, and has said his drug problems are in his past.
Last November, he was charged in Dade County, Fla. with leaving the scene of an accident. He was released on $500 bond and the case is still pending.
Officials from the Giants and the N.F.L. said they would have no immediate comment.
