Top Volleyball Coach Raped Girls Hundreds Of Times, Lawsuit Alleges

An influential youth volleyball coach is accused in a new federal class-action lawsuit of raping at least six girls in the 1980s on hundreds of occasions.

The Chicago-area coach, Rick Butler, used his position to manipulate young players and sexually abuse them, according to the suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Chicago and first reported Wednesday by the Chicago Sun-Times. One victim claimed she was raped repeatedly over several years and was impregnated by Butler, who she said forced her to undergo an abortion.

The 72-page lawsuit seeks more than $5 million in damages from Butler; his wife, Cheryl; and their training facility, the Sports Performance Volleyball Club in Aurora, Illinois. It was filed by Laura Mullen, the mother of a former player who trained under Butler.

The suit accuses Butler and his wife of concealing a history of alleged sexual abuse, as well as attempting to intimidate and discredit Butler’s accusers, several of whom are named in the document. The suit argues that had Mullen and other parents been aware of Butler’s history as an alleged “child sexual predator,” they never would’ve sent their daughters to train with the coach.


Source : Yahoo