NFL Hall of Famer and retiree Lawrence Taylor was arrested Wednesday on a felony charge for failing to report his residence change as a registered sex offender, making it his second time facing this offense.
Taylor, 65, first became a registered sex offender when he pleaded guilty to one count of sexual misconduct and one count of soliciting a prostitute in the third degree in New York in 2011. In the case, a 16-year-old girl said she was beaten and forced to go to Taylor’s hotel room to have sex with him. Taylor told Fox News at the time he was unaware she was underage, alleging he thought she was 19.
Taylor was given Level 1 sex offender status at his sentencing hearing, which is the lowest possible level, and was also sentenced to six years of probation in Florida, where he resides. Since he was considered low risk, his photo did not appear in an online sex offender database, but he still is required to report any address change to local authorities.
According to a report by The Athletic, Taylor turned himself into the Broward Sheriff’s Office in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on Wednesday and he was released on bail on Thursday.
The incident closely resembles an instance in 2021 when Taylor was arrested for the same charge in South Florida. Taylor then pleaded guilty to a lesser charge and wasn’t sentenced to any jail time.
On Thursday, Taylor’s attorney called his arrest a “misunderstanding,” and said he would be pleading not guilty to the charge.
“As with the previous incident involving the same allegations, Mr. Taylor did not knowingly commit any criminal offense. This situation is a significant misunderstanding,” his attorney, Mark Eiglarsh, said in a statement, via The Athletic. “We are confident that, once the prosecutors review the exculpatory evidence demonstrating Mr. Taylor’s innocence, he will once again achieve a favorable outcome.”
Taylor spent 13 seasons in the league as a linebacker for the New York Giants before he retired after the 1993 campaign. He won two Super Bowls during his time in the NFL, and was a 10-time Pro Bowler and eight-time All-Pro Linebacker. He was inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame in 1999.
It is not yet clear when Taylor’s sentencing hearing will take place.
