Inglewood mayor who allegedly groped teen cheerleaders history of risqu allegations
Embattled Inglewood Mayor James T.Butts, accused of groping a teen Tuesday while taking a photo with a group of cheerleaders, has a long history of successfully fending off disturbing allegations against him.Butts came under fire Wednesday for allegedly grabbing the butt of a teen while she posed for a picture with him at a city hall community event.
Residents and activists in the community are pushing for the longtime mayor to resign.His office denied any misconduct.But Butts has survived a steady onslaught of otherwise devastating allegations, that have been dismissed, including a 1993 criminal referral alleging he molested his young daughter.His then-estranged wife, police sergeant Minnie Butts, said that their daughter told her that the former Santa Monica Police Chief “touched and penetrated her vagina with his finger,” according to the Los Angeles Times.
Minnie also alleged the mayor “choked her to unconsciousness” in 1991.Butts denied any wrongdoing at the time.The local district attorney declined to press charges in the matter, citing insufficient evidence.After finishing his career in law enforcement in 2006 and working a stint as head of security for the LAX airport authority, he won election as Inglewood’s mayor in 2011.
He pledged to solve the city’s financial problems and boost its efficiency.“The city is in a precarious financial position,” Butts told the Los Angeles Times before he was elected.“They need someone who has operational, executive, and public safety experience … Not just a politician.”One of his first controversial moves in office was to award a $100 million contract to a waste management company in 2012 that had hired his brother just months earlier.
He personally profited from the deal, later reports showed.Meanwhile, he held a scandalous relationship with a city employee, Melanie McDade-Dickens, whom he first met in 2010 while she was a volunteer on his mayoral campaign.
He hired her as his executive assistant...