The arrest of NFL Hall of Famer Lawrence Taylor changed sex trafficking laws in New York
What is sex trafficking?
The definition of sex trafficking and how it differs from prostitution.
The investigator
- The 2010 Rockland incident attracted national attention due to the fame of the legendary Giants linebacker.
- It also revealed a sobering fact: that young victims of human trafficking were being brutally abused in the Lower Hudson Valley and suburbs across the United States.
NFL Hall of Fame member Lawrence Taylor, who was registered as a sex offender after his 2010 arrest in Rockland County, recently ran into trouble in his home state of Florida after being accused of failing to report his change of address, even though he would have been registered as a sex offender.
According to ESPN, The Athletic and TMZ, Taylor turned himself in to the Broward County Sheriff’s Office last week on an arrest warrant. His attorney told NBC News that, like similar charges in 2021, the situation stemmed from a “significant misunderstanding.” Taylor pleaded “no contest” in 2021.
The 2010 Rockland incident garnered national attention because of the legendary Giants linebacker’s celebrity. It also brought to light a sobering fact: that young victims of human trafficking were being brutally abused in the Lower Hudson Valley and suburbs across the United States.
The National Human Trafficking Hotline reported nearly 8,000 reports of sex trafficking in the United States in 2021. Victims of forced labor trafficking are also, in many cases, victims of sex trafficking. These are just the cases reported to the hotline (1-888-373-7888).
“It is a horror that is ravaging every community in New York State, including the suburbs, as the case against Lawrence Taylor has shown,” said Rep. Amy Paulin, who has long advocated for the eradication of human trafficking during her time in office.. “Much more needs to be done at the local level to find victims, separate them from their captors and provide them with access to the services they desperately need.”
Runaway forced into prostitution in Rockland
In 2010, the NFL Hall of Fame member was accused of having sex with an underage girl at a Rockland County hotel.
The then 16-year-old girl had been brought from the Bronx to the hotel, then called Holidome, located right off Exit 14B of the New York State Thruway in Ramapo, for the planned meeting with Taylor.
The girl from the Bronx, who came into the room tearful and marked by the brutality of her trafficker, had been forced into prostitution after her escape.
Taylor, who is 6’3″ and weighed about 230 pounds at the time, said he thought the girl was 19. He was visiting the area and lived in Florida, where he still lives.
Taylor’s arrest came after the girl texted her uncle that she was scared and in trouble. Her uncle called police, and Ramapo police went to the hotel and arrested Taylor.
From 2018 Human Trafficking: The Hidden Secret of Rockland County
Probation for Taylor, 8 years for human trafficker
The man who ordered the girl to Taylor’s hotel room, Rasheed Davis of the Bronx, was charged with human trafficking by the U.S. Attorney’s Office and sentenced to eight years in prison.
Taylor later pleaded guilty to visiting a prostitute and engaging in sexual assault. He was sentenced to six years’ probation and fined $1,400.
Because Taylor is classified as a Level 1 offender, he is not on the New York State sex offender registry. However, he is registered with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
The victim announced a civil suit against Taylor in 2011. “I believe that Mr. Taylor could see my black, swollen eye,” she said at a press conference in Manhattan where she and attorney Gloria Allred announced the lawsuit. “I cried, and instead of comforting me and getting him to change his mind about what he wanted to do to me, he instead acted selfishly and took full advantage of me.”
Her civil suit was dismissed. Legal experts said the laws at the time were not sufficient to adequately support her claims.
Changes in US and NY law
Since then, important legislative changes have changed the situation.
The federal Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act of 2015 makes it easier to prosecute people who offer prostitution or provide customers for underage victims.
Laws passed in New York in 2010 and then strengthened by the START Act of 2021 help victims of human trafficking expunge convictions related to prostitution and other crimes.
In 2016, New York State tightened its law to protect and provide justice for victims of human trafficking. Among other things, stricter penalties were introduced for inciting minors to engage in prostitution.
Paulin, the author of the TVPJA, said the law provides additional penalties for buyers and other exploiters of trafficking victims.
Meanwhile, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed a law in 2022 that would require training for hotel and other accommodation workers so they know how to identify potential victims of human trafficking. The bill, which has been introduced in every legislative session for several years, was inspired by the Taylor case.
Paulin said more needs to be done. Last session, she introduced a bill that would expand the definition of “sex offense” to include second-degree promotion of prostitution, first-degree promotion of prostitution, coercion of prostitution, sex trafficking, and sex trafficking of children.
“This would allow the court to impose longer periods of probation on individuals charged with sex trafficking after their release to reduce the likelihood of reoffending,” said the Scarsdale Democrat. “This is not about prosecuting buyers of sex from minors, but rather reducing cases of human trafficking overall.”
Get information, find help
The National Human Trafficking Hotline, humantraffickinghotline.org, offers information and assistance.
In Rockland County, information and assistance can be found at the Center for Safety & Change, Rockland County’s family shelter, at centerforsafetyandchange.org; a 24-hour hotline is available at 845-634-3344.
In Westchester County, My Sisters’ Place offers support. For more information, visit mspny.org. A 24-hour hotline is available at 800-298-7233 (SAFE).
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