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Stillwater Teen Keeps Probation in Sex-Assault Case After Court Review

A review hearing kept the 18-year-old on a youthful-offender probation plan after a no-contest plea.

Overview

  • Payne County Judge Michael Kulling found Jesse Mack Butler in compliance at a Dec. 8 hearing, allowing him to remain on probation under a court-ordered rehabilitation plan.
  • Under an August sentence following his no-contest plea, Butler was reclassified as a youthful offender and must complete specialized sex-offender treatment, weekly counseling, and supervision until his 19th birthday.
  • The district attorney’s office says any failure to comply could trigger adult reclassification and up to 10 years in prison.
  • Court and police records describe assaults against two teenage girls, including strangulation to unconsciousness and video evidence found on Butler’s phone, with medical reports detailing severe injuries.
  • Protesters gathered outside the Payne County courthouse over the lack of prison time, as scrutiny of Oklahoma State University ties to Butler’s family and the special judge who granted youthful-offender status persists, and Stillwater police report probes into threatening calls to local schools.