Thursday, May 6, 2010

Bail for Former Giants Linebacker, Lawrence Taylor, Set at $75K




The Class E Felony Taylor is facing could send him to prison for up to four years and require him to register as a sex offender.

By Alicia Cruz
The New Jersey Newsroom.com

Former NFL great Lawrence "Lonnie" Taylor has been arrested and officially charged with third-degree rape and solicitation of a prostitute in connection with the rape of a 16-year-old girl, only being identified as "C.F.," that allegedly occurred in Rockland County early Thursday morning. Taylor, who is currently being held in Ramapo, was arraigned at 4:15 p.m. before judge Arnold Edulson.

Prosecutors asked the judge to set the 51-year-old Hall of Fame Linebackers bail at $100,000 citing Taylor's previous convictions for drugs and fraud and the fact that he has no "significant ties" to Rockland County or New York.

Taylor's attorney, Kenneth Gribetz, argued vigorously against the prosecutor's bail amount request calling it, "Ludicrous," seeing as Taylor is an international spokesman who wants nothing more than to clear his name.

Gribetz added that Taylor, who denies the charges and is prepared to fight, lives in Florida with his wife and has been clean for 12 years. Gribetz asked the judge to release Taylor on his own recognizance.

At a press conference outside the courthouse, Taylor's, representative Mark Lepselter told the media that Taylor has worked very hard to change the public's perception about who he is and was "devastated" by the allegations against him. Gribetz told media outlets that Taylor "denies having sex with anyone last night, amen."

Gribetz, who says Taylor has no desire to flee the jurisdiction, told several media outlets he was confident that his client's innocence would be proven.

According to police, the victim’s pimp took her to Taylor’s hotel room at the Holiday Inn in Montebello where the alleged rape occurred. Afterwards, while the pimp was transporting C.F. back to New York City she sent her uncle a text.

Her uncle notified the New York City Police Department and both met the pimp and the victim upon arriving in the city.

Sometime around 3:30 a.m., Ramapo police arrived at Taylor's hotel room. When Taylor answered the door, police say he appeared to have been asleep. Police searched his hotel room and then placed him under arrest.

The victim is from the Bronx and reportedly ran away from home. The uncle told the police he had been trying to get her home and that the text he received from her was the first contact he'd had with her in sometime.

Police say the pimp is 36-year-old Rasheed Davis. He has also been arrested and charged with endangering the welfare of a minor, assault and unlawful imprisonment. It is believed that Davis assaulted the victim by "kicking and punching her with his fist resulting in a black eye, NYPD spokesman Paul Browne told media sources.


C.F. had been staying with Davis in the Bronx for a few weeks before he drove her to Taylor's hotel room and told her she had to have sex with the former NFL star. The victim refused, but Davis gave her to Taylor anyway. Taylor then allegedly sexually assaulted the victim and paid her $300, which she then turned over to Davis.

The Bronx County District Attorney's office declined to comment on the case at this time.

Taylor, often said to be one of the greatest defensive players in the history of the NFL, has seen his life decline over the last thirty years due to his admitted drug addiction was last arrested in November 2009 in Miami-Dade County, Fla. after police say he left the scene of an automobile accident.

His troubles with the law began to surface as early as 1996 when he was arrested for buying $100 worth of crack cocaine from an undercover police officer. A year later, he arrested again on more drugs charges in Florida. In 1998 Taylor was arrested for failure to pay child support.

The same year he was arrested in New Jersey for possessing drug paraphernalia after police discovered items used to smoke crack cocaine including a butane torch. That arrest led to a conviction in 2001.Then in 2000 he was ordered to serve five years Federal probation for tax evasion and filing false tax returns.

The third degree rape charge is a Class E Felony in the state of New York. If Taylor is convicted, not only will he face up to four years in prison, but he would also be required to register as a sex offender. The solicitation of a prostitute is a misdemeanor, which carries a maximum sentence of one year.

Taylor, who played 13 seasons with the New York Giants (1981-93), was suspended from the team for 30 days in 1988 after testing positive for cocaine a second time. He remained clean for five years knowing a third positive drug test would have ended his career.

During a 60 Minutes interview in 2003 with Mike Wallace, Taylor disclosed that at the height of his drug haze, he spent thousands of dollars a day on narcotics. As a graphic example of his once-upon-a-time party hard lifestyle, Taylor told Wallace about a time when he arrived to a team meeting in handcuffs after a night spent with call girls.

Taylor, who won two Super Bowl championships and was the NFL's MVP in 1986 before being inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1999, is being held in lieu of $75,000 bail and is scheduled to appear in court again in June.

Update on Lawrence Taylor @ Newjerseynewsroom.com
Who is Lawrence Taylor?
VIDEO: Lawrence Taylor Charged with Rape, Solicitation
Second Man Arrested in Lawrence Taylor Rape Case is Alleged Pimp



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