Student avoids prison after rape charges reclassified in Oklahoma

Mother and father and group members in Payne County, Oklahoma, are expressing outrage after a scholar accused of a number of violent sexual assaults was reclassified by the courtroom from being tried as an grownup to a “youthful offender.”

Jesse Butler, now 18, just lately entered a no contest plea to eleven costs, together with tried first-degree rape, strangulation and violating a protecting order. As a result of authorities stated the crimes occurred earlier than he turned 18, the courtroom adjusted his authorized standing beneath Oklahoma legal guidelines for juvenile offenders.

Courtroom information present Butler was initially charged as an grownup in March. He’s now being prosecuted as a juvenile offender for rape, sexual assault, home violence and assault by strangulation.

His subsequent listening to is scheduled for Dec. 8 in Payne County District Courtroom.

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Mother and father in Payne County are expressing their anger after a highschool scholar going through a number of critical costs modified his standing to “youthful offender” in courtroom. (Google Maps)

Stillwater police stated officers have been first notified on September 12, 2024, of incidents that allegedly occurred earlier that 12 months.

“A full investigation was initiated the next day, which resulted in SPD referring the matter to the Payne County District Lawyer’s Workplace, the place the case was reviewed and costs have been filed,” the division stated in an announcement.

Butler was a scholar at Stillwater Public Colleges on the time. Courtroom information obtained by KOCO embrace a number of emotional sufferer affect statements that describe lasting worry and trauma.

“You did not simply strangle me along with your fingers – you strangled my voice, my pleasure, and my skill to really feel secure in my very own physique,” one sufferer wrote.

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Jesse Butler in a baseball uniform earlier than the felony allegations got here to mild. (Risin Baseball)

She stated Butler additionally threatened to kill her if she spoke out.

A mom of one of many victims advised KOCO that the justice system “failed” her daughter.

“As a mom, I by no means thought I must see my daughter undergo such a battle, a battle the place she needed to show over and over that she was the sufferer, whereas the system made excuse after excuse for the one that damage her.”

Jesse Butler’s father, Mack Butler, is the previous director of soccer operations at Oklahoma State College, situated in Stillwater.

A police affidavit reviewed by Fox Information describes brutal acts, together with a buddy saying she was repeatedly raped and strangled if she refused, and a physician warning that in a single case she would have died if the strangulation had lasted seconds longer.

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Courtroom paperwork present Butler stays certain by an Aug. 25, 2025, sentence, contingent on full compliance with a state-supervised rehabilitation plan.

Whereas Butler was sentenced to a complete of 78 years, the sentence has been suspended beneath Oklahoma’s juvenile offender program, which means Butler is not going to serve any jail time except he violates the phrases of the plan.

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The Payne County Courthouse in Stillwater, Oklahoma. (Google Maps)

He’ll stay beneath the supervision of the Bureau of Juvenile Affairs till age 19, topic to counseling, remedy, greater than 100 hours of group service, a curfew, no social media, every day check-ins and weekly counseling, based on paperwork obtained by Fox Information.

The Payne County District Lawyer’s Workplace stated it adopted state regulation in dealing with the case, noting that Butler was 17 on the time of the offenses and due to this fact fell beneath Oklahoma’s youthful offender statute.

The company stated the designation permits the courtroom to take care of supervision till the suspect’s nineteenth birthday and provides him an opportunity at rehabilitation whereas nonetheless being held accountable.

Jesse Butler sits on a bench together with his sister and mom close by. (Amber ‘mckinzie’ Selvey)

A spokesperson added that the regulation doesn’t erase the crimes or reduce their affect, however “gives a authorized avenue for accountability and rehabilitation beneath state regulation.”

If Butler complies with the phrases of this system and avoids additional authorized hassle, he can keep out of jail, though any violation may consequence within the full sentence being carried out.

State Rep. JJ Humphrey, R-Lane, referred to as the result “unacceptable” and stated he plans to petition for a grand jury investigation into how Payne County prosecutors dealt with the case.

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State Rep. JJ Humphrey is questioning the lenient sentence for a Stillwater teen convicted of rape and calling for an investigation. (Oklahoma State Home of Representatives)

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“If that does not mild you on hearth, your wooden is moist,” Humphrey advised Fox Information Digital. ‘Do you perceive what I imply? You bought a nasty deal. That units me on hearth.”

He accused native officers of displaying “favoritism” and contrasted Butler’s case with others through which defendants obtained harsher sentences.

“Does it completely style like political favor that you will eradicate rape and intercourse crimes so you’ll be able to slap this man on the wrist?” stated Humphrey. “Oklahoma, you higher listen. Get up.’

Neither the President nor the Public Prosecution Service made any further feedback past the written assertion. Fox Information Digital has reached out to Butler’s authorized staff for remark.

Stepheny Worth covers crime together with lacking individuals, murders and migrant crime. Ship story tricks to stepheny.worth@fox.com.