Activists demand Inglewood Mayor James Butts resign over groping allegation

INGLEWOOD, CA - Activists are calling for Inglewood Mayor James T. Butts to resign immediately, alleging he groped a high school student during a photo at a city hall community event on Tuesday. Activists allege Butts grabbed the student's buttocks while posing for a photo with her.

Inglewood Commissioner Leonard Redway, who was at the event, told FOX 11 he did not witness the alleged act itself, but says he saw a commotion and a girl who was visibly upset. Redway says he called the girl's father to tell him what allegedly happened.

Later that night, cell phone video shot by Redway, timestamped 10:34 p.m. Tuesday, appears to show Mayor Butts in the middle of a neighborhood street, talking with a couple of people.

Redway says he learned the mayor was on his way to personally apologize to the father, after an earlier attempt to apologize by phone was rejected.

What they're saying:

"You need to go today. This is nothing new here in the city of Inglewood," activist and Inglewood resident Yolanda Davidson said at a news conference. "The residents of Inglewood, myself included, and the people who could not be here today, are calling for his resignation, effective today."

"Sexual allegations cannot be underplayed. They're serious," said activist Earl Ofari Hutchinson.

"The fact is, we do believe Mayor Butts sexually groped a young minor," added activist Najee Ali.

Redway said he believes the mayor's late-night visit was not about making amends.

"Why would you show up at someone's house at 10:30 at night if nothing happened," he said. 

Redway also alleged on social media an effort to suppress the alleged misconduct. "Come to find out there's all kinds of people working behind the scenes to cover this [expletive] up," he said. 

What we don't know:

The girl's family has not yet filed a police report. Activists say the family wants to protect their daughter's identity. Mayor Butts has not publicly responded to the allegations, and his office has not returned FOX 11's request for comment. 

Inglewood