The parents of an Oklahoma teenager who accused her former boyfriend of sexual assault and strangulation say they were misled about how his case would be resolved — and that the final outcome allowing him to bypass jail without admitting any guilt was far too lenient.
The victim, identified in court documents as K.S., was in a relationship with Jesse Mack Butler that she says ended in abuse. Her parents now plan to file a civil lawsuit against Butler and his family, their attorney, Rachel Bussett, told NBC News.
Bussett said her clients agreed to Butler receiving youthful offender status, but said they were led to believe by the district attorney’s office, according to court papers, that Butler would plead guilty and receive treatment at a juvenile facility. Instead, Butler pleaded no contest and completed a rehabilitation plan at home.
A judge formally dismissed the case against Butler on Monday — one day before his 19th birthday — ruling that he had complied with the plan.
“My clients always understood that there would be a guilty plea and some sort of inpatient-type treatment required, not that it was going to be no contest and home confinement,” Bussett told NBC News in a phone call.
NBC News reached out to Butler’s attorney, Derek Chance, and his parents regarding the details of the agreed upon plan but none of the parts immediately respond to requests for comment. Chance told The Oklahoman he plans to file a motion to have Butler’s record expunged.
“This was just a really, really difficult case,” he said, adding that at Monday’s hearing, the defense “maintained our innocence and explained that we entered a plea to essentially engage in risk management in the case. But again, that was not well received by the district attorney.”
The allegations
Butler was arrested in March 2025 after two girls he had previously dated accused him of sexual and physical abuse. He was charged with 10 felony counts — including attempted first-degree rape, rape by instrumentation, sexual battery, forcible oral sodomy and domestic assault and battery by strangulation — along with a misdemeanor count of domestic assault and battery, according to court documents obtained by NBC News. He pleaded not guilty to all charges
The charges were later amended to include a protective-order violation after Butler was accused of positioning himself within 6 feet of one of the victims at a school function, court records state.
The victims, identified in court documents as L.S. and K.S., said the abuse took place over several months in 2024. They reported it to a school resource officer in September of that year, who alerted police in the town of Stillwater.
According to an arrest warrant affidavit, L.S. told a detective that she and Butler dated from January to March 2024, and that he frequently physically and sexually assaulted her during that time.
On Feb. 2, 2024, L.S. said, Butler attempted to rape her in a vehicle but was interrupted when a woman approached the car, the affidavit states. L.S. said she believed the woman had heard her yelling, crying and saying “no.” Butler then allegedly drove to his home, where L.S.’s car was parked, and attempted to rape her again before she managed to escape, according to the affidavit.
L.S. said Butler warned her if she went to the police, “they would both be in trouble.”
She also told the detective that Butler strangled her to the point of unconsciousness on Feb. 29, 2024, after she refused to engage in sexual acts with him — and that when she woke up, he was laughing at her. Butler was 17 at the time, according to court documents.
An attorney for L.S. did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
After his relationship with L.S. ended, Butler dated K.S. from March 2024 to September 2024, according to the arrest affidavit. K.S. told the detective that in April 2024, at a drive-in restaurant, Butler tried to touch her without consent; when she refused, he threw her to the ground, scratching her arm, and laughed about it afterward, according to the document.
K.S. said she engaged in sexual activities with Butler throughout their relationship “to prevent physical aggression from him,” the affidavit alleges, telling the detective she had learned “what to do and not to do” to keep from being hurt.
She also described two strangulation incidents she said took place in the summer of 2024. In the first, while she was house-sitting for a friend, she said Butler strangled her until she lost consciousness, leaving red marks on her neck. Days later, she said, he strangled her again — this time filming it on his phone. Investigators later obtained a search warrant for Butler’s phone and recovered a video, dated Aug. 1, 2024, that appeared to show him strangling her until she passed out, the filing says.
In a separate incident described in the affidavit, Butler allegedly dragged K.S. “by the neck and hair from her home to a vehicle in her driveway.”
The plea deal
Butler initially pleaded not guilty to all charges. In May 2025, his attorney filed a motion seeking youthful offender certification, which was granted that August.
Ed Blau, an Oklahoma defense attorney and former prosecutor not connected to the case, told NBC News that youthful offender status can be granted to juveniles accused of serious crimes. If the offender completes a court-ordered treatment plan, the case is handled as a juvenile matter and ultimately dismissed. If they fail to comply, it reverts to adult proceedings — in Butler’s case, one that carried a potential 78-year prison sentence, according to court records.
“It really puts the responsibility and impetus on the offender to do everything that they’re supposed to do,” Blau said, adding that he saw nothing unusual in how Butler’s case was handled.
But court documents filed by Bussett in December allege that both victims and their families were told by the district attorney’s office that Butler would plead guilty and serve time at a juvenile facility in exchange for a youthful offender status. However, just before an August 2025 hearing, the filing states, the families learned Butler would not agree to plead guilty or to incarceration at a juvenile facility after all. Bussett’s filing does not name the district attorney. NBC News reached out to the former district attorney for Payne and Logan counties, Laura Austin Thomas, who retired in April.
At that hearing, K.S.’s mother urged the court to reject the plea, Bussett said.
“What has happened here with regard to how the victims were treated in this process is one of the main reasons why victims of sex crimes are reluctant to come forward,” Bussett said. “We understand and respect the court’s ruling that it made … but regardless, we do not believe that these victims were treated with courtesy and respect through the process.”
Jeremiah Gregory, the newly elected district attorney of Payne and Logan counties, said in a statement he plans to refer the case to federal prosecutors for review.
“I cannot undo what has already been done, but I can — and will — continue to stand as a strong voice for all victims of violent crime,” he said.
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-4673. The hotline, run by the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN), can put you in contact with your local rape crisis center. You can also access RAINN’s online chat service at https://www.rainn.org/get-help.
