Here’s a challenge: pick the most disturbing part of this story. We predict you’ll find it very tough.
Our choice is this: He faces at least 21 accusers (some as young as 13), has been questioned by two police departments, has two million on-line followers, yet apparently isn’t being investigated, charged, prosecuted or sued.
But read on and make your own decision. What’s the worst?
—His coercion?
He reportedly paid for a victim to come visit him in California but just bought a one-way ticket. She “didn’t have a job and couldn’t afford to pay for her return flight.” Later, he “said I’d have to perform sexual favors for him if I wanted to get a ticket back,” the teenager reported, “adding that oral sex counted as $50 toward her flight.”
—His gaslighting?
After one reported assault, he “texted and called (the teen victim) regularly, speaking to her as if nothing inappropriate had occurred.” One expert said “Sophisticated abusers who behave normally after an assault are often sowing doubt “to deceive their victim into believing that it wasn’t actually an assault, because what person who commits a horrific crime would then engage with them afterwards as normal?”
—His brutality?
He allegedly “forced teens to perform oral sex, in many cases refusing to stop as they struggled to breathe or their mouths bled” and in one case, “clumps of her hair were ripped out.” He writes about “humiliating, killing and ejaculating on women.”
We warned you: there’s plenty of awful behavior to choose from.
Who is this character?
Dahvie Vanity, Jesus David Torres, a.k.a. or Dahvie the Elite Hair God, formerly of the band Blood on the Dance Floor, which appeals to hundreds of thousands of mostly teenaged girls. He now lives in central Florida.
HuffPost has exposed him under the headline “Dahvie Vanity Raped A Child. Police Gave Him A Warning. Now 21 Women Accuse Him Of Sexual Assault.”
Who else is the villain here?
The decision not to arrest, charge and prosecute Torres was “incredibly lazy, sloppy [and] irresponsible,” says former prosecutor Boz Tchividjian.
Among others, Tchividjian is referring to Captain Kurt Romanosky of the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office, who reportedly told Dahvie that “he was aware of the sexual contact with (a teen victim), and that her mother would not ask cops to arrest Dahvie if he cut off contact with her daughter.”
Dahvie claimed he “didn’t know how young (the victim) was, said he was sorry and promised not to talk to her again.”
Then, “police let him off.”
What can you do to help?
- Spread the word about Dahvie.
- Complain to Shopify, which still sells his clothing and products.
- Write to Apple and Spotify, where his music is still featured.
- Instagram, Twitter and Facebook have also declined to take action against him.
- Urge them to cut all ties with Dahvie.
What’s the take-away?
—Parents, please do whatever you can to keep your kids from communicating with adult strangers on line.
—Remember: Sick adults will use ANY talent, skill, accomplishment, title or recognition – in sports, religion, business, music, the arts, you name it – to win the trust of parents and kids. Achievement has nothing to do with trustworthiness.
Where’s the silver lining to all this?
According to Huffington Post “Florida lawmakers recently introduced a bill that would allow prosecutors to file sexual battery charges at any time in cases involving survivors who were minors at the time of their alleged assaults.
(Thanks to Sebastian Murdock and Jesselyn Cook of HuffPost for terrific reporting on this awful case.)
Horowitz Law represents survivors of sexual abuse. If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual abuse, contact our law firm at 1-888-283-9922 or send an e-mail to sexual abuse lawyer Adam Horowitz at [email protected]