Former sportscaster Marvell Scott charged in runaway's rape

(Photo: Newsday)

Former WABC-TV sportscaster Marvell Scott was charged Tuesday with raping a 14-year-old runaway he allegedly picked up in 2008 from a pimp in Times Square, but the anchor’s lawyer said he was the victim of a “shakedown.”

Scott, 36, who unexpectedly left Channel 7 last spring and is now a sports physician, met the girl, her 16-year-old friend and the pimp in June 2008, prosecutors said. He paid the man and raped the younger girl in his West 47th Street apartment, the Manhattan district attorney’s office said. He called the pimp later to set up another date, prosecutors alleged.

Scott pleaded not guilty Tuesday and was released on $10,000 bail. He was also charged with patronizing a prostitute and endangering the welfare of a child and could face up to seven years in prison if convicted.

His attorney denied the charges.

“There’s absolutely no forensic and physical evidence to support that story,” Richard Portale told amNewYork. He said Scott bumped into the girl, who was crying, and took her to his home to comfort her.

“If the district attorney’s office really believed they had this predator and this rapist, they’re not going to leave him on the streets,” Portale said.

Prosecutors said the indictment was delayed because they had to find the girls, who live upstate, arrest the pimp and collect other evidence.

A prosecutor Tuesday said Scott asked the pimp for his money back when the girl first refused to have sex. The girl’s friend coaxed her back, agreeing to stay with her, and the 14-year-old twice asked Scott to stop during intercourse, Assistant District Attorney Lisa Friel said.

Scott raised eyebrows when he ditched his sportscaster gig last year. He told the Daily News then that he was “soul-searching.” He has since worked as a sports physician at Rutgers University and traveled to Haiti to help earthquake victims. Channel 7 could not be reached for comment Tuesday.