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    Monday, May 13, 2024

    More dancers allege abuse by dance instructor and wife

    BOSTON — Another dancer has come forward to allege that a former star with the Boston Ballet and her instructor husband sexually abused her, according to an expanded lawsuit.

    The dancer, who is identified in court filings as Jane Doe 100, is one of five dancers who say Mitchell Taylor Button and his wife, former Boston Ballet principal dancer Dusty Button, “exploited their position of power and influence in the dance world to sexually abuse young dancers across the country,” The Boston Globe reported Wednesday.

    The original suit, brought by two dancers including one with the Boston Ballet, named only Mitchell Button as a defendant. The expanded lawsuit filed last week in U.S. District Court in Nevada adds three new plaintiffs and expressly names Dusty Button as a defendant.

    The Buttons deny the allegations, their lawyer said.

    “Our position remains the same,” Marc Randazza said via email. “We look forward to clearing both of their names in court.”

    Sigrid McCawley, an attorney for the plaintiffs, called the allegations “the highest level of betrayal.”

    McCawley said Jane Doe 100, who lives in New Hampshire, met the Buttons in 2014 when she was a minor. She said they plied her with alcohol, brought her to their apartment, and raped her.

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