Daryl Katz, owner of the Edmonton Oilers, has been accused of paying a teenage dancer for sex when she was as young as 17.
The Canadian billionaire has been named in a civil lawsuit alleging that he paid dancer Sage Humphries tens of thousands during a sexual relationship about ten years ago, according to the New York Post.
The allegations are part of a counter-lawsuit against dance teacher Mitchell Taylor Button and his wife, Dusty Button, that alleges they sexually abused their students.
Owner Daryl Katz of the Edmonton Oilers attends round one of the 2016 NHL Draft at First Niagara Center on June 24, 2016, in Buffalo, New York. (Dave Sandford/NHLI via Getty Images)
The Buttons’ counterclaim lays out a series of accusations against others.
The third-party filing alleges that dancer Humphries had entered into a “throuple relationship” with Katz and Button when she was 18. The suit also claims that two other adult men had sexual relations with the dancer.
The suit further alleges that the dancer’s own mother “assisted her in laundering the money she was paid and in trafficking her to Katz.”
Sage Humphries, a dancer with the Boston Ballet, massages her legs during intermission backstage at The Nutcracker performance at the Boston Opera House. (Josh Reynolds for The Washington Post via Getty Images)
Evidence in the form of text messages between Humphries and Katz was introduced to show Katz allegedly telling the girl — who was 17 at the time — that he would send her $50,000.
Katz’s attorney, Robert Klieger, insists that the billionaire never had a sexual relationship with the girl but admitted they met twice in 2016 to discuss a film project the teen was reportedly shopping for.
Klieger added that Katz did pay Humphries $75,000 for that project.
Connor McDavid greets owner Daryl Katz after being selected first overall by the Edmonton Oilers during Round One of the 2015 NHL Draft at BB&T Center on June 26, 2015, in Sunrise, Florida. (Dave Sandford/NHLI via Getty Images)
“They ultimately decided to pass on the project. But during the period of time that the project was under consideration, they asked for some help to keep with the funding of the project, to keep it going. And that’s the $75,000 that is at issue,” the attorney said.
However, the lawyer for Humphries and the other dancers suing the Buttons has dismissed the accusations against Katz and added that the allegations are simply a smoke screen perpetrated by the Buttons to obscure their guilt.
“Their counterclaims falsely implicate others and are an unfounded attempt to portray the women they abused as liars,” lawyer Sigrid McCawley said of the allegations against Katz.
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