DWTS Alum Lawrence Taylor Arrested for Alleged Rape

Former New York Giant in custody in upstate New York following allegations of sexual assault earlier today

UPDATE: Taylor's attorney said that his client is innocent. "He hopefully will be released on his own recognizance by 4 p.m. this afternoon," lawyer Kenneth Gribetz tells E! News. "I am confident that Mr. Taylor will be exonerated in a court of law."

In another development, Ramapo Supervisor Christopher St. Lawrence told the local Journal News that the teenage victim, believed to be either 15 or 16, is a runaway from the Bronx who was beaten in the attack and needed treatment at a nearby hospital. A pimp was also reportedly involved in the altercation.

The girl texted her uncle as the pimp drove her back to the Bronx, and the pimp was subsequently taken into custody by NYPD, according to St. Lawrence.

An NYPD spokesman declined to comment and referred all calls to the Ramapo PD.
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Eminem should have waited a week. He could have dissed Ben Roethlisberger and Lawrence Taylor.

The NFL Hall of Famer and erstwhile Dancing With the Stars hoofer is on the defensive after getting arrested earlier today in upstate New York on suspicion of rape, E! News has confirmed.

Per the Ramapo Police Department, cops are holding the 51-year-old Taylor in custody as part of an investigation into a rape that allegedly occurred at a Holiday Inn in Montebello, N.Y.

Citing unnamed law enforcement sources, New York City's ABC Channel 7 reported that Taylor is facing third-degree rape because the alleged encounter occurred with someone under the age of 17.

No charges have been filed yet, however. A press conference has tentatively been set for this afternoon.

The famed footballer knows his way around a police blotter, having gotten busted trying to buy drugs on several occasions in the mid-'90s and getting collared last November in Miami for allegedly leaving the scene of an accident.

Taylor once admitted in a 60 Minutes interview to living a hard-partying lifestyle that included nights of heavy boozing, drugs and prostitutes.

Since retiring from the New York Giants in 1993, the man many consider the greatest linebacker of all time sobered up and competed on the eighth season of Dancing With the Stars. He made the top seven before being eliminated.

Taylor's agent was unavailable for immediate comment.

In any case, it looks like Lawrence will have a hard time cha-chaing his way out of this mess.

- Additional Reporting by Steve Forrest

(Originally published May 6, 2010, at 9:14 a.m. PT)