What Happened?
When a Yvonne Sweeney's daughter brought home her first boyfriend, he appeared kind, attentive, and respectful, someone the family initially welcomed. Over the following weeks, however, the teen began pulling away without explaining why, behavior her family later said they didn’t understand at the time.
Months later, according to published reporting, a detective informed the family of serious sexual assault allegations the student had reported at school. Another teenage girl also came forward with similar claims involving Jesse Mack Butler. Reports state that one of the accusers alleged she was strangled to the point of losing consciousness and that the incident was recorded on a phone.
Even after the allegations, Stillwater High School kept K.S. and Butler in the same class for two weeks, an oversight believed was influenced by the status of Butler’s father. Butler, was subsequently charged with nine felonies against K.S. and the other young woman, L.S., who reported being choked so severely by Butler that her doctor told her she was lucky to be alive.
The allegations were reported through the school system as part of an effort to prevent further harm, but media coverage later noted that the students remained in the same class for approximately two weeks after the accusations were made.
Court records and news reports indicate that Butler was initially charged with multiple felony counts relating to both students, including charges involving sexual assault and strangulation. He was later designated a youthful offender, a legal status that altered potential sentencing. Rather than serving a traditional prison term, he was placed into a court-ordered rehabilitation program, according to legal filings and case coverage.
Butler’s court case began in March and was led by Assistant District Attorney Debra Vincent, who, according to the families of both victims, planned to prosecute Butler to the fullest extent of the law and would not deal with him unless he pleaded guilty. Neither family understood why Vincent eventually began pushing for Butler to be designated as a youthful offender, a hybrid status that treats defendants between 15 and 17 years old more seriously than juveniles but still offers expungement or record sealing not routinely available to adults.
“We were completely against the youthful offender status from the beginning,” said Amber Selvey, the mother of L.S. “I was sobbing, I was begging her not to do this deal,” Yvonne Sweeney said.
Sweeney said Vincent reasoned that Butler didn’t have a previous criminal record, a claim the families rejected because Butler already had more than one accuser.
Nevertheless, Butler was certified as a youthful offender in July with approval from Special Judge Susan Worthington, even as another charge related to violating a protective order held by L.S. was added to his list the next month. Butler subsequently pleaded no contest to 11 counts and was sentenced to the 78 years, though a further deal was in the offing.
The outcome prompted strong reactions within the Stillwater community and from the families of the students, who expressed fear that someone else could be harmed. The case has since gained broader attention through national media coverage.
