July 20, 2024
NFL Hall of Famer Lawrence Taylor Arrested Over Alleged Sex Offender Registry Violation
The former New York Giants linebacker was added to the sex offender registry in 2011.
NFL Hall of Fame linebacker Lawrence Taylor was arrested in Florida on July 17 due to a felony warrant being issued for his arrest over allegations of his failure to disclose a residence change, which violated the terms of his status as a registered sex offender. According to the Pembroke Pines Police Department, after he turned himself in, Taylor was released on July 18 after he posted bail.
As The Athletic reported, Taylor’s attorney, Mark Eiglarsh, said the arrest was due to a “misunderstanding” and said that his client would be pleading not guilty.
“As with the previous incident involving the same allegations, Mr. Taylor did not knowingly commit any criminal offense. This situation is a significant misunderstanding,” Eiglarsh told the outlet. “We are confident that, once the prosecutors review the exculpatory evidence demonstrating Mr. Taylor’s innocence, he will once again achieve a favorable outcome.”
According to NBC News, Taylor had been arrested in December of 2021 on the same charge, and his requirement to register as a sex offender stemmed from soliciting an underage sex worker in 2011, which also resulted in him being charged with misdemeanor sexual misconduct. The girl alleged that she was beaten and forced to go to Taylor’s hotel room in New York. Taylor’s defense at the time, according to Fox News, was that he was unaware that the girl was underaged. Taylor alleged that the girl told him that she was 19.
Although the 65-year-old Taylor is a member of the Hall of Fame and the New York Giants Ring of Honor, his legacy has been tainted through numerous scandals since his induction to both. Ultimately, according to Yahoo, Taylor was determined to be a level one sex offender at the sentencing hearing for the 2011 incident, which meant that his photo did not appear in any online databases. Taylor was also sentenced to six years of probation in Florida, his home state.
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