Lawrence Taylor Update: Sex Offender Registry Awaits NFL Legend after Guilty Plea
NEW YORK (CBS/WCBS/AP) Former NFL star Lawrence Taylor admitted in court to paying a 16-year-old runaway for sex, as he pleaded guilty to sexual misconduct and patronizing a prostitute.
The 51-year-old ex-linebacker, who led the New York Giants to Super Bowl titles in 1987 and 1991, will serve six years' probation and must register as a sex offender.
"She told me she was 19," Taylor said Thursday in court as he admitted having intercourse with the prostitute.
Taylor said he now knows the girl was 16 and legally incapable of consent. He said he paid her $300.
Prosecutor Patricia Gunning said the plea deal was acceptable in part because Taylor had assisted in investigations into human trafficking since he was charged. Another prosecutor, Arthur Ferraro, said outside court that Taylor "was of assistance in the field of human trafficking in several jurisdictions and with federal authorities."
Defense attorney Arthur Aidala said that "obviously" included a federal case against the man charged with being the 16-year-old's pimp.
Aidala said Taylor decided the plea bargain was in everyone's best interest. Taylor had resisted a plea deal for months after pleading not guilty to third-degree rape, patronizing a prostitute, sexual abuse and endangering a child.
Taylor was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1999. In 2009, he competed in ABC's "Dancing With the Stars." He had also been a spokesman for the NutriSystem weight-loss company, but he was dropped after his arrest.
Sentencing is March 22. That same day, state Supreme Court Justice William Kelly will determine what level of sex offender status Taylor will have. Aidala said he will suggest Level 1, which he said would mean checking in once a year with local police.