Another day, another New York sports icon fends off a rape allegation.
In what is being called "old news," New York Mets pitcher Johan Santana was apparently accused of rape last year by a young woman who alleges that he took advantage of her on a golf course in Fort Myers, Florida. According to the police report, which is only just now coming out, Santana admitted to having consensual sex with the woman "in the open field alongside the golf-cart path." The rest of the story is another one of these he-said/she-said deals, but it's pretty ugly either way.
Santana claims the couple went on a half-hour walk and that they started kissing before moving on to heavy petting. The girl got aggressive and started masturbating; he ended up mounting her and then pulling out and spooging on her leg — all consensually.
The girl's version of the story: she kept saying, "No, please no," and "Not like this," and then was immobilized by Santana, who pulled her hair and grabbed her arms. She said the pitcher yanked her skirt and panties off and then did the deed. Afterward, as they were getting dressed, he said, "This is crazy," and "I'm sorry."
Police later did a DNA swab and got their match. They also executed a search warrant on the woman's home and found evidence on her computer of Internet searches about acquaintance rape, evidence preservation, and Santana himself. However, they were unable to determine the dates of those searches.
In the end, prosecutors decided not to press charges due to a lack of evidence regarding consent. Santana isn't talking, other than a statement he released saying he's been cleared.
LT rung up
Meanwhile, it seems that Lawrence Taylor's "I was merely masturbating in a hotel room with a 16-year-old prostitute, not having sex with her" defense didn't work with prosecutors in upstate New York. Taylor, one of the greatest football players who ever lived — if not the greatest — was formally charged last week with third-degree rape and patronizing a prostitute. There's also a child-endangerment charge and a criminal sexual abuse charge. Reports vary, but it looks like Taylor could get at least four years if convicted for all of this stuff.
The basic story is that LT flew north from Florida to the New York area, checked into a hotel in Ramapo, New York, and called for an escort. The guy he talked to was a creep named Rasheed Davis, who is alleged to have physically assaulted the girl who ended up going to Taylor's room.
One version of the story, Taylor's version, is that the girl showed up and he, for whatever reason, decided not to take advantage of her and just gave her $300 after whacking off in her presence. Taylor's lawyer, Arthur Aidala, is expected to present evidence that the girl was accompanied to Ramapo by a 23-year-old friend, who will testify that the alleged victim bragged about getting money from Taylor without having to do anything with him. "It was weird," the girl reportedly said, after coming back to the car. "We didn't even have sex."
