Lawrence Taylor was officially charged with raping a 16-year-old prostitute in Montebello, N.Y., this afternoon.

Taylor, the 51-year-old Hall of Fame linebacker, was charged with statutory rape and soliciting a minor prostitute. The rape charge has a maximum prison sentence of four years.

Bail for Taylor was set at $75,000 and he was ordered to return to court on June 10. His attorney said that Taylor denies the charges against him.

The alleged victim is a runaway from the Bronx, N.Y., and she was reportedly brought to Taylor’s room at the Holiday Inn by her pimp, Rasheed Davis, who faces a slew of charges himself.

Police indicated that Taylor paid $300 for sex with the victim, and that the victim sustained injuries to her face before she had sex with the former New York Giant. Reports have indicated that a used condom was recovered in the hotel room. Taylor has a long history of substance abuse and drug arrests, but no drugs were found in the room. There was a bottle of alcohol. Taylor candidly discussed his history with prostitutes in his autobiography.

“Ignorance is not an excuse to an individual’s age,” Ramapo police chief Peter Brower said when asked if Taylor knew the age of the girl.

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