A convicted Oklahoma teen who faced 78 years in prison on 10 felony counts, including rape, attempted rape, and strangulation, completed a single year of probation and community service before a court dismissed his case entirely, prompting the newly elected district attorney to publicly condemn the defense's claims of innocence.
Jesse Butler, now 19, was formally discharged from court supervision Tuesday at midnight in Stillwater, Oklahoma, after finishing 150 hours of community service and one year of rehabilitation. A plea deal had already converted his 10 adult felony charges, stemming from accusations by two female high school students, into a youthful-offender case. His plea shifted from not guilty to no contest. And on Tuesday, a court hearing made the dismissal official.
What happened next at that hearing left the new district attorney seething. Butler's defense attorney, Derek Chance, used the proceeding to assert Butler's innocence, claim Butler was the real victim, and argue that video evidence proved the encounters were consensual. Newly sworn-in District Attorney Jeremiah Gregory, who oversees Oklahoma's District 9 encompassing Stillwater, fired back publicly:
"Today's hearing included disingenuous assertions from the defense regarding the defendant's innocence, that he was the victim in this matter, and that the victim's assertions were false."
Gregory did not hold back about the ambush. He said Chance never disclosed his intention to make any kind of statement during the hearing.
"Nothing has made my blood boil more. I did not know this was going to be allowed, nor did the defense attorney reveal he intended to make any kind of statement. The statements made in court were inappropriate to say the least and I will not remain silent without contradicting such assertions."
The defense's claims of innocence and consent collide with the details in court filings. An affidavit reviewed by the New York Post described Butler strangling his first victim to the point of unconsciousness. The assault on the first ex-girlfriend allegedly began around Groundhog Day 2024, just days after the two started dating.
Court documents stated the girl "yelled and told him [Butler] 'no' repeatedly and tried to push him off of her, but was unable to overpower him." A later altercation in a Walmart parking lot ended with Butler allegedly strangling her unconscious. When she came to, she said Butler was laughing at her. She later revealed she had to undergo surgery.
Butler was accused of assaulting a second victim during the spring and summer of 2024. Court documents described that victim's experience in stark terms: "She could not breathe, scratched at his arms, and tried to get away, but could not free herself." She told investigators she "described feeling coerced to comply to avoid being hurt." The documents also stated Butler wanted to have sex every day.
He was 17 when prosecutors charged him as an adult with 10 felony counts, including rape, attempted rape, sexual battery, and assault. He faced up to 78 years in prison.
Butler avoided that sentence through Oklahoma's Youthful Offenders Act of 1994, a state law that allows defendants under 18 charged with serious crimes, everything except first-degree murder, to be prosecuted as juveniles. Under the plea deal, Butler's status shifted from adult felony defendant to youthful offender. His plea changed from not guilty to no contest. His sentence: 150 hours of community service and one year of rehabilitation.
He completed that probation Monday. At midnight Tuesday, when he turned 19, the court discharged him from supervision. The case was dismissed.
Now his defense attorney is working to have the case formally wiped from Butler's record, an expungement that Chance himself admitted to The Oklahoman would be challenging.
Rachel Bussett, the attorney representing one victim's family, was left outraged by the defense's conduct at the hearing. She described Chance's assertions bluntly:
"He was basically saying that Butler was the victim and that he was innocent and that there was video evidence that demonstrated this, and that's just not the truth."
Chance claimed video evidence showed the encounters were consensual. Bussett dismantled that argument in a single sentence:
"But the fact of the matter is that you cannot consent to strangulation."
Bussett said the victims' families have not ruled out civil lawsuits against Stillwater High School, the city of Stillwater, and the Butler family. No civil case has been formally filed.
DA Gregory, who took office after the plea deal was already struck, said he would submit the case for federal review, though he did not specify which federal agency or department would receive it. He also acknowledged the legal reality: Oklahoma's double-jeopardy protections mean Butler cannot be prosecuted by the state again for the same offenses after his conviction.
Gregory framed his commitment in terms of the victims, not the limits of the law:
"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."
KWTV reported Butler completed his probation Monday, and the timeline moved quickly from there, discharge at midnight, hearing on Tuesday, case dismissed, and a defense attorney standing in open court to proclaim the innocence of a man who pleaded no contest to charges involving the strangulation of two teenage girls.
A system that lets a defendant plead no contest to 10 felony counts, serve one year of community service, walk free at 19, and then claim innocence in open court is not protecting victims. It is protecting the comfortable fiction that accountability happened.
