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Jesse Butler, 18, avoided jail last month after attacking two 16-year-old girls in the city of Stillwater, Oklahoma, in early 2024. In one instance, he left a victim unconscious and close to death after she was choked out, according to her doctor. Get all the latest news happening around the world as it happens — download the news.com.au app direct to your phone. New police bodycam video has been shared of the moment officers turned up to the family home to arrest Butler. The teen can be seen walking out the front door, handing his phone to his mum after officers informed her that her son was being arrested. The policewoman then advises Butler that he will be taken to jail to be processed and that his mum can contact a bondsman. The teen is in tears as his mum consoles him, gently rubbing his back. “Right now, you do have to come with us, and I do have to put you in handcuffs, so turn around for me,” the officer says. The mum questioned if that was necessary. “Do you have to put him in handcuffs?” she asked, before kissing his cheek. “I love you. I’ll get you out. Stay silent. We’re coming to get ya, okay? Stay strong. Say your prayers.” Butler was then led away by police, patted down, and placed into a patrol car. The high-school baseballer – who was 17 at the time – was initially charged as an adult and slapped with 10 felony counts, including rape, attempted rape, sexual battery, and assault. He pleaded not guilty to all charges but later struck a deal with the district attorney’s office to change his status from adult to youthful offender. Butler, who is the son of a prominent local sports coach, switched his plea to no contest, meaning he accepts conviction but does not plead or admit guilt. A judge signed off on the deal. Under local laws, the youth plea deal meant Butler was sentenced last week to just one year of rehabilitation and community service — despite facing roughly 78 years in prison. “It’s appalling,” the mother of one of the victims told the Daily Mail of the light sentence. “I received similar punishments for breaking curfew when I was a teenager. “It’s a complete injustice to these girls and to future victims, because unfortunately, statistically, it won’t end. Not only are you giving a slap in the face to these survivors, you are potentially putting other women at risk by not holding him accountable.” The mum of the second victim also ripped the “joke” punishment. “It’s not equivalent to what he did to them,” she said. “I told the DA, I don’t want him to get away with this, because I cannot know that another mother is going to have to go through what I went through. “By giving him youthful offender status, all the prison time went away.” The attacks on the two girls unfolded early last year when they each dated the sports star, according to court documents. The first victim told investigators that Butler repeatedly raped her and choked her when she tried to refuse during their three-month relationship. Her doctor said she had to undergo surgery to repair damage to her neck after being choked — and that she would have died if the choking had lasted another 30 seconds, the court papers charged. The other victim reported that she, too, had been choked until she passed out. Police later found a video on Butler’s phone of him choking the girl. Oklahoma state Representative Justin JJ Humphrey (R-Choctaw) told News Nation’s Banfield that the entire saga showed the court system was “corrupt”. “How in the world did this judge get to this?” he asked. “If that doesn’t fire you up, there’s something wrong.” “The laws are there, but what do you do when they don’t follow them? Does this sound like justice?” he added. - with Emily Crane, New York Post
