Updated: 5:44 p.m. Nov. 2, 2026
An Inglewood High School student filed a claim against the city of Inglewood and Mayor James Butts alleging the mayor inappropriately touched the student during a voter registration event at Inglewood City Hall on Sept. 15.
A copy of the claim reviewed by The LA Local, stamped as received by the city on Monday, says that during a group photo after a Votechella performance by the Inglewood High band and dance team, Butts “placed his arm around [the student’s] bare skin without her consent, held her and did not release her, causing her to twist away.”
The claim said the unnamed student suffered “bodily injury from offensive and unlawful touching and restraint” and that she experienced emotional distress and humiliation.
Butts has repeatedly denied the allegations over the last month and a half, saying he did not and would not touch anyone inappropriately. In an Oct. 28 emailed statement to The LA Local, he called the allegations “political warfare,” and he said he had his cellphone in his hand and rested it on her back during the photo.
“This is untrue and time will prove it to be untrue,” Butts told The LA Local on Monday, adding that he had not yet seen the claim.
The claim, a standard precursor to a lawsuit against a government agency, is the first time anyone claiming to represent the student has publicly voiced the allegation. It comes a month and a half after Leonard Redway, a City Council District 1 candidate, first took to Instagram to air the allegations against Butts.
The mayor, who is up for reelection, responded to the outcry that followed Redway’s post with a press conference outside Inglewood City Hall on Sept. 21.
Flanked by supporters and other Inglewood officials, he called the allegations “baseless, unsourced and completely false” and said they were an election-motivated attack. In a statement to KNX News, his office said no one had accused Butts of misconduct at the time or expressed any concerns.
Jason Glasgow, the student’s attorney, said in a press release last week that the student reported the incident to Inglewood Unified School District staff and officials the same day. He said the mayor visited the student’s home that night to apologize.
Butts told The LA Local in the Oct. 28 statement that he did visit the student’s home along with City Clerk Aisha Thompson, but said he disagreed with Glasgow’s description of events. He said he visited the family’s home at the request of the student’s father and had a “friendly conversation” before leaving. The LA Local has reached out to Thompson.
James Morris, the Inglewood Unified School District’s county administrator, said at the Sept. 21 press conference that he had never failed his duties as a mandated reporter. Morris told The LA Local on Monday that he is unable to share additional information.
Butts said Inglewood police are wrapping up an investigation into the incident.
