TRIGGER WARNING This article or section, or pages it links to, contains information about sexual assault and/or violence which may be triggering to survivors.
Blood On The Dance Floor vocalist Dahvie Vanity has been accused of sexual assault by 21 women. 16 of his victims were allegedly underage when they were assaulted. In a harrowing exposé published by the Huffington Post, 34-year-old Vanity, real name Jesus David Torres, has been accused of molestation, abuse and rape.
The first allegation against Vanity date back to 2007. Where a 14-year-old girl from Pinellas County, Florida, was forced to perform oral sex.
According to the report, the girl, Dianna Farrell, came into contact with Vanity through MySpace. At the time, Vanity had not formed Blood On The Dancefloor but had gained popularity as a hairdresser. The report alleges that Vanity drove across the state to do Farrel’s hair, and afterwards, he assaulted her.
Eight days after the assault took place, Farrell called into a Christian radio segment where teenagers discussed their problems. After describing what had happened to her, a show stagger alerted the police. The police visited Farrell but she was reluctant to cooperate with the prosecution. Farrell was “confused about what had happened and afraid of getting Dahvie into trouble.”
“After speaking to Farrell and her mother, Captain Kurt Romanosky, a detective from the Crimes Against Children squad of the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office, called 22-year-old Jesus David Torres, the man known on Myspace as ‘Dahvie the Elite Hair God.'” the report states.
“Romanosky informed Torres that he was aware of the sexual contact with Farrell, and that her mother would not ask cops to arrest Torres if he cut off contact with her daughter. Torres claimed he didn’t know how young Farrell was, said he was sorry and promised not to talk to her again.”
As the report notes, the felony that Vanity was accused of at the time is a form of statutory rape. Ignorance of the victim’s age is not an admissible defence under Florida Law. However, Vanity was let off anyway.
A former sex crimes prosecutor, Boz Tchividjian, has slated law enforcement’s decision not to arrest Vanity as “incredibly lazy, sloppy [and] irresponsible.”
“The issue of whether they gave consent is out the window because they weren’t old enough to give consent,” said Tchividjian. Explaining that cases like this “are not and should not be governed by what the victims alone want.”
The report continues to detail more allegations against Vanity. Presenting his pattern of abuse. Which usually consisted of him winning young girls trust over the phone or online, before taking the women into secluded areas and forcing them to engage in sexual acts.
“He made it all seem so normal, and even came to see me twice more after [he assaulted me],” another shared of her experience at 15. “I was a confused kid desperate for attention and had misplaced feelings for a predator. He made me feel special.”
Torres is now 34-years-old and has yet to face any legal ramifications. Despite two encounters with law enforcement over sex crimes involving underage girls, he is not listed under any sex offender registries.
Huffington Post reportedly reached out to Torres for comment. When a reporter for the publication showed up at his house, Torres threatened to call the police.
Read the full report here. Warning, it features extremely graphic details that could be triggering to survivors.
