Inglewood Mayor James Butts denies student’s allegation as attorney announces legal claim

Featured photo: James T. Butts Jr. / City of Inglewood, from the city’s current mayor biography page.

A new statement from the student’s attorney challenges Butts’ account of the September incident and seeks City Hall video and an outside investigation.

INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Mayor James T. Butts Jr. is renewing his denial of allegations that he inappropriately touched an Inglewood High School student, after her attorney announced a government claim and challenged statements the mayor made at a September news conference.

In an Oct. 27 release supplied to The Voice of Black Los Angeles, attorney Jason Glasgow said his client, identified as Jane Doe to protect her privacy, reported the alleged encounter to school district staff and city officials the evening it occurred. The release also seeks surveillance footage and an investigation outside Inglewood.

Butts denies wrongdoing. In a statement reported by FOX 11, he acknowledged visiting the student’s family home but denied apologizing, saying the father requested the meeting. He said Inglewood police are investigating and that video would be released when the inquiry concludes.

What James Butts said at his press conference

The allegation concerns a group photograph at Votechella, a youth voter registration event at Inglewood City Hall on Sept. 15. At his Sept. 21 news conference, Butts forcefully rejected the accusations and characterized the controversy as a politically motivated smear campaign.

“I fully deny their allegations with my whole heart,” Butts said, according to FOX 11’s coverage.

Butts also said no documented complaint existed against him or anyone else in the city. He criticized the reporting and argued that attacks against him drew on racial stereotypes. He ended the news conference without taking questions.

In an Oct. 28 interview with EURweb, Butts again denied inappropriate conduct and challenged the timing of the attorney’s announcement ahead of the Nov. 3 election. The mayor called the controversy political warfare. That is his characterization; it does not resolve the allegation.

Glasgow alleges that Butts held Doe by exposed skin during the photograph and did not let go when it ended, impeding her movement. The attorney says an independent witness saw the mayor’s hand move down the student’s back and saw her twist out from under his arm. Those assertions have not been independently established by VOBLA.

According to Glasgow, Doe reported the encounter to school district staff and city officials that same evening. He said the family contacted his office shortly afterward and that his team spent weeks gathering records and confirming information before speaking publicly.

“We want to correct any impression that the family delayed in coming forward,” Glasgow said in the release.

The attorney says Butts visited the family’s home that night with the city clerk and apologized to Doe and her father.

Butts disputes that account. He told FOX 11 that the father asked to meet him in person through the city clerk, that they had a friendly conversation and that he made no apology. The competing accounts leave the purpose and substance of the visit unresolved.

City Hall video and an outside investigation

Glasgow says footage from city cameras exists and remains in the city’s possession, but had not been provided to his office. He says his office submitted a public records request Sept. 30 and that the city extended its response date first to Oct. 23 and then to Nov. 6, three days after the election.

The attorney calls for immediate release of the video. He also says his office requested in writing that the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department investigate, arguing that Inglewood police investigating the city’s own mayor presents a conflict of interest.

Butts told FOX 11 that Inglewood police had interviewed witnesses. He did not provide a completion date or a date for releasing footage.

The attorney also argues that the alleged conduct could support prosecution under Penal Code Section 149. FOX 11 reported in late October that no criminal charges had been filed.