Former New York Giants linebacker Lawrence Taylor has been given the lowest-grade sex offender status on Tuesday following his March 22 sexual misconduct sentencing. Judge William Kelly had delayed this portion of Taylor's sentencing, but three weeks later Taylor has been designated as a Level 1 sex offender. As a result, he will not have his photo published in an online registry for such offenders.
Judge Kelly decided on Level 1 status because he believed that Taylor would not find himself in a similar situation. Had Kelly agreed with the prosecution and gone with a Level 2 status, that would have required Taylor's picture to be added to the registry. However, given Taylor's public profile and the amount of attention already given to this trial, Kelly believed that there was little difference between the two levels and went with the lower one.
However, Level 1 status still means that he will need to register as a sex offender, in addition to six years probation.