Top US Youth Volleyball Coach Faces Lawsuit over Sexual Abuse Claims

According to the lawsuit filed against him, Rick Butler allegedly raped “no fewer than six” players under his supervision.

In the wake of the convictions against former USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar, come further allegations of abuse against well-known youth volleyball coach, Rick Butler.

Victims who trained under him from the 1980’s to the current decade have come forward.

According to Laura Mullen, a mother of one of his victims who played for him in 2012, the coach used his clout to threaten players against coming forward to authorities on the abuse. The official complaint stated, “Butler, his wife Cheryl, and GLV (among others) have actively concealed his abuse for years by pressuring his victims, often by threatening to end their futures in the game, to remain silent. Worse, they have persistently intimidated and attempted to discredit the few of his victims brave enough to come forward by exerting emotional and psychological control over them.”

Butler allegedly forced girls to watch porn for “educational purposes” and once told an athlete that he was fondling and kissing her in a hotel room, “Because I can.” Another victim, Christine Tuzi who has come forward after several decades, was reportedly raped in his apartment after being invited there under the guise of discussing her future in the team. Butler continued to rape her afterward and had eventually gotten her pregnant. He then pressured her to get an abortion.

Butler continues to deny all allegations of abuse.