Hotel tycoon sued in Texas by teen he's charged with sexually assaulting in O.C.
A Texas hotel mogul and reality TV star who is charged with sexually assaulting two teenage girls at his home in Orange County is now being sued by one of his accusers.
In the lawsuit, filed in Dallas, the girl alleges she was abused by Bill Hutchinson, 63, after she became friends with his ex-wife's daughter and moved in with the family.
The multimillionaire developer was charged in July with one count of rape of an unconscious person and five misdemeanor counts of nonconsensual touching involving two then-16-year-old girls during their visits to his luxury home in the Emerald Bay community of Laguna Beach.
He also faces a charge in Texas of sexual assault, which the state classifies as a second-degree felony.
Hutchinson, founder of the real estate investment firm Dunhill Partners and co-owner of Virgin Hotels Dallas, has pleaded not guilty to the charges and insisted he is "not capable of assault, sexual or otherwise."
Hutchinson is also the star of the reality TV show “Marrying Millions,” where he appears with his 23-year-old fiancée.
In the lawsuit filed Tuesday, attorneys representing the girl identified as Jane Doe 2 allege the attacks began at Hutchinson's home in Laguna Beach between April 1 and April 5, 2021. The alleged assaults continued for a two-month period in Laguna Beach and in Highland Park, Texas, an affluent Dallas suburb, until she reported them to the police in May.
According to the lawsuit, Jane Doe 2 met and became friends with two 15-year-old girls who were living with Hutchinson at his home in Highland Park. One of the girls was the daughter of Hutchinson’s ex-wife, and Hutchinson was the legal guardian of the other girl. The suit says Jane Doe 2 frequently spent time with the two girls for meals, sleepovers and vacations.
The lawsuit alleges that when Jane Doe 2’s parents moved from Highland Park to Fort Worth, she agreed to move in with Hutchinson's family so she would not have to change schools and could remain with her friends.
According to the lawsuit, Jane Doe 2 would travel with Hutchinson and the other girls to his homes in Miami, Laguna Beach and a resort in Arizona. The suit alleges that during these trips, Hutchinson supplied the girls with alcohol, and they smoked marijuana.
“Mr. Hutchinson will soon learn the hard lesson that wealth, power and celebrity does not grant someone a license to sexually assault children in Texas or anywhere else, “said Charles E. Soechting Jr., one of the plaintiff's attorneys.
The lawsuit also names Dunhill Partners and accuses it of financing Hutchinson's sexual abuse of Jane Doe 2 through his use of company travel accounts and company property. It also alleges he regularly directed employees of Virgin Hotels to provide the girls with alcohol.
“Bill Hutchinson is credibly accused by multiple law enforcement agencies of sexually abusing young teens. He used his money, power and businesses," including his Virgin Hotels Dallas, "to groom his victims," said John Manly, another of the teen's attorneys. "We intend to hold him and all who enabled him to account, including the Virgin Hotel.”
Hutchinson is currently free on $100,000 bail in the Orange County case.
In Texas, he is accused of sexually assaulting a 17-year-old girl at his Highland Park house while she was intoxicated. He has denied the charge and was released on a $30,000 bond.
Hutchinson faces another civil suit in Texas filed by a woman in her 20s who alleges he got her intoxicated and took her to an apartment where he groped her and placed her hand on his penis. According to the Dallas Morning News, the incident was captured on video.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
