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A former Boston ballerina and her dance teacher husband are accused by five dancers of using their position in the dance world to engage in sexual abuse, according to an expanded lawsuit.
Three other dancers have come forward to accuse Dusty Button, a former Boston Ballet star, and her husband, Mitchell Taylor Button, of exploiting “their position of power and influence in the dance world” to abuse young dancers across the county, a lawsuit said last week. The initial lawsuit, filed in July, was brought by two dancers, including Boston Ballet dancer Sage Humphries, and uniquely named Mitchell Button.
The expanded costume named three more dancers and was filed in Nevada U.S. District Court last week and names Dusty Button. Three of the new plaintiffs include a New Hampshire woman identified as Jane Doe 100.
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The Buttons, residents of Las Vegas, have denied the allegations against them, said their attorney, Marc Randazza.
“We can’t wait to clear both of their names in court,” Randazza told the Boston Globe. “We are not trying this matter in the press. We find it interesting that the press got the complaint even before Ms Button was served. Perhaps that should inspire some cynicism.”
Fox News has contacted Randazza, as well as Dusty Button.
Sigrid McCawley, a lawyer for the dancers, said the Buttons prey on vulnerable people.
“They are no longer able to use the dance world and their professions to perpetrate criminal behavior against young girls aspiring to be great dancers,” she told Fox News in a statement. “Courageous women are stepping forward now and saying they need to be stopped. We are grateful that their voices are being heard.”
The expanded lawsuit said a culture of harassment “permeates” the dance world at all levels.
Dusty Button (L) and a guest attend the WeWork San Francisco Creator Awards at the Palace of Fine Arts on May 10, 2018 in San Francisco, California.
(Photo by Kelly Sullivan / Getty Images for The WeWork Creator Awards)
Complainant Gina Menichino said Mitchell Button treated her for mistreating her when he was 13 when he was a dance teacher in Florida. The accuser known as Jane Doe 100 said she met the Buttons in 2014 as a minor.
The couple have vowed to make her a star if she complies with their demands, according to the court record. She said Mitchell Button sexually assaulted her after the couple invited her to their apartment. She was reportedly selected by Dusty Button, 32, during the meeting.
Humphries, 23, alleges the abuse against her started in 2017 while she was watching a movie with the Buttons in their apartment. Mitchell Button allegedly sexually assaulted her while Dusty Button was pretending to be asleep, the lawsuit said. The couple eventually forced her to live with them and allegedly controlled her social media accounts and who she spoke to.
In return for her compliance, the Buttons paid for her meals and personal expenses while not charging her rent, according to court documents.
“Yes [Humphries] never attempted to distance himself or disobey the Buttons, ”the lawsuit said,“ they would threaten to revoke their financial support and sabotage his career ”.
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Humphries told the New York Times that she reported her experience in 2018, but authorities told her there was not enough evidence to pursue a criminal case.
Menichino said she met Taylor Button when she was a 13-year-old dance student in Tampa, Florida. He took a “special interest” in her and eventually sexually assaulted her and started “sexing” her, according to the lawsuit.
Another plaintiff, Rosie DeAngelo, accused Taylor Button of choosing her for “special attention” when she was a student at the same dance academy in Tampa as Menichino.
“Taylor started making sexual comments towards Rosie,” the lawsuit read. For example, Taylor choreographed a solo dance performance for Rosie where she used a stool as a prop, and Taylor told Rosie that he wanted her to ‘bend’ over the stool and perform sex acts on her.
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