High school baseball star who pleaded no contest to string of rapes walks free — sparking outrage from parents, lawmakers

An Oklahoma teen who was facing nearly 80 years behind bars after being convicted of raping and assaulting two high school girlfriends has dodged prison altogether under a shocking sweetheart plea deal — sparking outrage among the victims’ parents and lawmakers.

Jesse Mack Butler, 18, avoided jail time last week over the spate of sick attacks on the two 16-year-old girls in Stillwater in early 2024 — including one that left one victim close to death after being choked unconscious, News9 reported.

Initially, Butler, then 17, was charged as an adult and was slapped with 10 felony counts, including rape, attempted rape, sexual battery and assault.

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The baseball player 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 after 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 the slammer.

“It’s appalling,” the mother of one of the victims told Daily Mail of the slap-on-the-wrist sentence.
“I received similar punishments for breaking curfew when I was a teenager,” she added.

“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 mom of the second victim also ripped the “joke” punishment.

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“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,” she continued.

“By giving him youthful offender status, all the prison time went away.”

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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 Rep. 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 said.

“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.