A teenager who raped, assaulted and strangled two girls has avoided a prison sentence because he was underage at the time.
Jesse Mack Butler, now 18, was underage when he assaulted the two girls in Oklahoma, one of whom was just 16 when she was brutally assaulted.
After pleading ‘no contest’ to the charges, Butler was given community service, rehabilitation and counselling, but no time in prison, which has outraged the parents of the two young girls.
If he complies with the court-ordered ‘punishment’, his criminal record will be wiped clean when he turns 19 and won’t have to register as a sex offender.
The family of one of his victims, named only as Kate, has demanded the state take more accountability and punish him.
The pair began dating in school, going to church together, with Butler bringing Kate flowers, her family told ABC.
They weren’t aware of the extent of the abuse their daughter suffered at the hands of her boyfriend.
‘It was upsetting,’ Kate’s mother, Yvonne, said. ‘The girls had to be really brave to come forward, and they went through a lot to get to that point. And then, it just kind of felt like it was all for nothing.’
During the investigation, police found a video on Butler’s phone showing Kate being strangled until she was unconscious.
Attorney Rachel Bussett is representing Kate and her family, and says Oklahoma courts need to send a better message to young women in the state, who she says aren’t protected right now.
What to do if you’ve been raped
If you have been the victim of rape, either recently or historically, and are looking for help, support is out there.
- If you have recently been raped and you are still at risk, ring 999 and ask for the police. Otherwise, the first step is to go somewhere you are safe.
- If you want to report your rape to the police, ring 999 or the police non-emergency line on 101. An Independent Sexual Violence Advocate (ISVA) will often be on hand to help you through reporting and even after you have made a statement, you can still decide to withdraw from the criminal justice process at any time.
- If you plan on going to the police, if possible, do not wash your clothes or shower, bathe or brush your teeth. If you do get changed, keep the clothes you were wearing in a plastic bag. These steps will help to preserve any DNA evidence your attacker may have left on your body or clothes.
- If you don’t want to contact the police, Rape Crisis suggest talking to someone you trust about what has happened; or you can ring one of the UK’s many rape and sexual assault helplines.
- Anyone aged 16+ can contact Rape Crisis’s 24/7 Support Line by calling 0808 500 2222 or starting an online chat.
- If you have been injured, you’re best advised to go to your nearest A&E to seek medical treatment. If you are uninjured, you can go to your nearest Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC). The NHS has information on where to find your nearest centre here.
- If your rape is historic, you can still access support, including from the police – there is no time limit on reporting and your account can still be used as evidence.
Read more here.
Butler’s second victim, known by the initials L.S., said the abuse began shortly after they started dating in January 2024.
In one instance, she told police that Butler forcibly removed her clothing, pinned her down and sat on her, even as she screamed no.
When they were in L.S.’s car in a Walmart parking lot, she was strangled until she was unconscious after telling him she didn’t want to have sex.
Butler strangled her so hard that she had to have surgery on her neck.
The victim recounted: ‘That moment changed my life. A medical professional later told me that I was just 30 seconds away from dying. Thirty seconds.
‘If you had kept your hands on my neck just a little longer, I wouldn’t be standing here today.’
Despite the outrage from the families and Americans across the country, Payne County District Attorney Laura Austin Thomas stood by the case decision.
In a statement, she said: ‘The three young people involved were all 16 years old at the time of the alleged crimes. Each of the allegations was reported to have occurred during consecutive dating relationships, and none of the allegations was reported until after the relationships had both ended.
‘These circumstances do not justify criminal behaviour or minimise victim trauma, but they do impact the evidence available for a prosecution, and they also impact potential defences.
‘We discussed these factors at length on multiple occasions with each family, including advising them from the beginning that this matter was likely to end up as a youthful offender prosecution and could even end up in juvenile court.’
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