Correction, May 2, 2024, 12:20pm: A previous version of this article contained incorrect information. Real estate developer Bill Hutchinson has pleaded guilty to sexual assault in an incident involving a 16-year-old boy. Five other charges against him were dismissed after he pleaded not guilty.
A prominent Dallas-area real estate developer and reality TV personality pleaded guilty Monday in a California court to a misdemeanor count of sexual assault in a 2021 incident involving a 16-year-old girl at a Laguna Beach vacation home. Ta.
William Lewald “Bill” Hutchinson, 65, was sentenced in Orange County court to three years of probation and will be required to register as a sex offender. He is not going to serve any time in prison.
One charge of rape of an unconscious person and four additional charges of sexual assault against him were dismissed. He had previously pleaded not guilty to all six charges.
Hutchinson's attorney, Levi McCathern, said in an emailed statement that Hutchinson and the Orange County District Attorney's Office “agreed to a plea agreement in exchange for the dismissal of five very serious charges.”
“He and his family are relieved that this matter is over,” the statement said.
Hutchinson appeared on the reality show “Lifetime.'' millions of married people The show focused on his relationship with a woman 40 years his junior.
He resigned as president of his real estate company, Dunhill Partners, and resigned from his positions at Virgin Hotels Dallas and W Hotels around the time the accusations were made.
accusation
Hutchinson was accused of sexually assaulting a teenage girl in his Highland Park home in 2021, but he maintained his innocence and a Dallas County grand jury declined to indict him on the charges in 2022. .
The California charges against him involve the same teen and another girl who was 16 at the time of the incident.
Hutchinson still faces a personal injury lawsuit filed in Dallas County by three women, identified in court documents only as Jane Doe 1, Jane Doe 2 and Jane Doe 4.
The lawsuit was first filed in Dallas County District Court in July 2021 by a boy who claims he assaulted his girlfriend in Texas and California, but the complaint has since been amended multiple times to add plaintiffs. Ta.
Each is seeking at least $1 million.
The women allege that Hutchinson sexually assaulted each woman, some repeatedly, at different locations in Dallas in 2019 and 2020 after providing them with alcohol until they became intoxicated, according to the complaint. are doing.
The case is scheduled to proceed to a jury trial in November.
Michelle Simpson Tugel, an attorney representing the three women, said: orange county register She said she was “heartened” that victims came forward in the California case, leading to a conviction.
“I applaud this survivor's courage in coming forward, which not only led to some measure of justice for what she went through, but also shed light on the actions of a man who is now a registered sex offender. It also helped me guess,” she said. she said. “It is not easy to come forward to a public figure and claim the truth while waiting years for a court date, but the courage of this survivor recognizes the potential impact that every voice has. is showing.”
