Coach Raped Teens While Wife Bullied Victims, Lawsuit Claims

CHICAGO (IL)
Daily Beast

February 28, 2018

By Olivia Messer

“Because I can.”

When one of Rick Butler’s young victims first asked why he was assaulting her, that was his answer, according to a new bombshell class-action lawsuit filed against the coach.

Butler was for years considered “most powerful coach in youth volleyball,” according to the 72-page complaint, which alleges that he used his position to rape at least six underage girls “hundreds” of times.

Butler, who had “the ability to place the teenage girls he coaches at top college volleyball programs,” even impregnated one of his alleged victims, the complaint claims.

“The victims were each at the top of their game; rising stars in need of a coach to propel them to the next level and help get them a scholarship to an elite college,” claims the lawsuit, which was first reported Tuesday by The Chicago Sun-Times. The complaint additionally notes that Butler used that “leverage” over the girls and their parents to manipulate them.

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