Former New York Giants linebacker Lawrence Taylor leaves federal court Tuesday, Oct. 23, 2012, in New York. A teenager who has accused Taylor of sexually assaulting her when she was 16 cried as she described her encounter with the NFL Hall of Famer at the start of a civil trial. Taylor has pleaded guilty to having sex with her in 2010. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
NEW YORK (AP) — NFL Hall of Famer Lawrence Taylor has won a lawsuit that tried to hold him accountable for having sex with a 16-year-old girl in a New York hotel room.
The jury returned its verdict Friday after hearing testimony from the now-19-year-old woman and Taylor.
Taylor gave a thumbs-up to a friend in the spectator area when the verdict was announced.
The former New York Giants linebacker acknowledged that he had sex in 2010 with a prostitute. He denied, however, that he ignored obvious signs she was a teen runaway in distress.
The woman had claimed that an abusive pimp forced her to have sex with Taylor for $300. She sued Taylor, seeking unspecified damages.
The encounter occurred in a hotel room in Montebello, just north of New York City.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.
