Story summary
James T. Butts, the 73-year-old mayor of Inglewood who has held office since 2011, is accused of grabbing a teen cheerleader’s buttocks during a community event photo opportunity on Tuesday. Residents and activists are demanding his immediate resignation over this incident. Yolanda Davidson, an activist and resident, called for Butts to resign at a press conference, stating that such behavior is not new in the city.
The mayor's office denied any misconduct, asserting there was no sexual touching or assault. However, community commissioner Leonard Redway acknowledged witnessing a commotion and seeing a girl become visibly upset during the event. Additionally, Redway noted that Butts showed up at someone’s house around 10:30 p.m. on Tuesday night to address concerns related to this incident.
Moreover, Mayor Butts has faced similar allegations in the past but managed to fend them off successfully. For example, a 1993 criminal referral accused him of molesting his daughter and alleged physical abuse by his then-estranged wife, Minnie Butts, who is a police sergeant. The local district attorney declined to press charges due to insufficient evidence.
Written for “Inglewood Mayor Allegedly Gropes Teen” on 2026-10-04,
grounded in this article and the 1 other(s) covering the same event.
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.
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Butts → embattle → 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.
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she → come → event
Residents and activists in the community are pushing for the longtime mayor to resign.
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mayor → push → community
His office denied any misconduct.
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office → deny → 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.
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he → survive → 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.
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Chief → estrange → Times
Minnie also alleged the mayor “choked her to unconsciousness” in 1991.
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mayor → allege → 1991
Butts denied any wrongdoing at the time.
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Butts → deny → time
The local district attorney declined to press charges in the matter, citing insufficient evidence.
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attorney → decline → 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.
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he → finish → 2011
He pledged to solve the city’s financial problems and boost its efficiency.
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He → pledge → efficiency
“The city is in a precarious financial position,” Butts told the Los Angeles Times before he was elected.
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he → tell → Times
“They need someone who has operational, executive, and public safety experience …
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who → need → experience
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.
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that → award → brother
He personally profited from the deal, later reports showed.
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reports → profit → deal
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.
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she → hold → campaign
He hired her as his executive assistant when he won the election.
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he → hire → election
Then he allegedly began soliciting her for workplace sex, demanding she do his laundry and massage his “aching feet” up to four times a day, according to a 2021 wrongful termination lawsuit filed against him.
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she → begin → him
Butts bumped McDade-Dickens’ pay up from $135,069 in 2013 to $349,077 in 2019 due to additional responsibilities, the lawsuit claims.
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lawsuit → bump → responsibilities
Butts is credited with bringing the Los Angeles Rams to the area.
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Butts → credit → area
But as their relationship soured, he took away her extra assignments and began docking her pay, she claimed.
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she → sour → pay
“I showed up at work every single day, I didn’t miss an assignment, I was at every meeting that he eventually allowed me to be in,” McDade-Dickens said at a 2021 press conference.
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Dickens → show → conference
“I still maintained all of my daily activities, I never slacked.
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I → maintain → activities
I would close my door sometimes and cry and bite my tongue, but I compartmentalized my work and my relationship.”
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I → close → work
She was fired at the end of 2019.
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She → fire → 2019
Her legal representation pointed to years of positive evaluations as evidence for her wrongful termination lawsuit.
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representation → point → lawsuit
Texts shared from McDade’s Facebook account in 2022 show a texter who appeared to be Butts — named “FOREVA Mr. Butts” — accusing McDade of infidelity.
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who → share → infidelity
In another text marked from June 2018, the person laments her “cold” demeanor and apparent move to Scottsdale.
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person → mark → Scottsdale
“My whole life is destroyed with you,” the text says.
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text → destroy → you
“You are so cold and so different and now you say you want to move to Scottsdale.
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you → say → Scottsdale
I dont understand why you wont give us another chance…why you would just leave here…broken…”
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you → understand → chance
Butts was allegedly obsessed with McDade-Dickens and began stalking her when she tried to end their relationship in 2018, her lawsuit claims.
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lawsuit → obsess → 2018
He allegedly began sneaking into her home to watch her sleep.
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her → begin → home
“When Ms. McDade attempted to end the relationship in 2018, it turned to stalking and obsession by Butts,” the lawsuit alleges.
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lawsuit → attempt → Butts
“At first, Butts would not ‘allow’ Ms. McDade to break up with him.
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McDade → allow → him
He called her hundreds of times, would go to her house, uninvited, sneaking in through the garage and stand over her bed watching her sleep.”
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her → call → bed
The case was thrown out in November of last year after McDade-Dickens failed to file an opposition to a motion for a summary judgement.
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Dickens → throw → judgement
An attorney representing the city called it “frivolous from the start.”
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attorney → represent → start
McDade-Dickens had requested an extension to the summary judgement hearing after she said she was looking for “permanent housing” and did not have phone service.
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she → request → service
Butts also caught fire when he allegedly retaliated against Inglewood’s former longtime treasurer, Wanda Brown, for speaking out about the city’s “declining cash balance, its increasing deficit spending and growing negative fund balance, the need to curb spending, and about the wasteful and expensive use of outside consultants,” in 2020, her attorney said.
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attorney → catch → 2020
…and 8 more, not listed.
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