Former Channel 7 sportscaster charged with raping teen

Former Channel 7 sportscaster Marvell Scott was charged with raping a 14-year-old child prostitute in 2008 by the Manhattan district attorney Tuesday.

Scott, 36, a medical doctor who left the station last year to practice medicine, allegedly took the young runaway from upstate New York into his Manhattan apartment and had sex with her after striking a deal with a pimp and older companions of the girl who needed money.

A 16-year-old female companion of the victim was allegedly in the room at the time of the incident, the district attorney said.

Scott was charged with rape, patronizing a prostitute and child endangerment in state Supreme Court in Manhattan. He pleaded not guilty and was released on $10,000 bail.

One of his lawyers, Richard Portale, said that Scott - who is currently working as medical director at Performance Medical Services in Manhattan and recently returned from a trip to Haiti - briefly befriended the girl in 2008 when he found her crying on the street, but never had sex with her.

"This was a shakedown by a pimp and two prostitutes," Portale said.