Police say Pro Football Hall of Famer Lawrence Taylor has been charged with third-degree rape and patronizing a prostitute in an assault on a 16-year-old runaway who was brought to his suburban New York City hotel room against her will. The former New York Giants linebacker was arrested early Thursday at a Holiday Inn in Suffern, N.Y. Police say the victim was 16, one year below the legal age of consent in New York. An attorney for Taylor, Kenneth Gribetz, says he is confident Taylor will be proven innocent. Ramapo Chief of Police Peter Brower says Taylor paid the girl $300. He wouldn’t comment on whether Taylor knew how young she was, but he said, “Ignorance is not an excuse to an individual’s age.” http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news;_ylt=AtecI2E0EZHmPJNhB8VLbjRDubYF?slug=ap-lawrencetaylorarrested