STILLWATER, Okla. — What started as whispered allegations in the hallways of Stillwater High School has exploded into a full-blown controversy that’s got parents, lawmakers, and true-crime podcasters up in arms.

Jesse Mack Butler, now 18, was a standout baseball player at the school and the son of Mack Butler, former director of football operations at Oklahoma State University.

Back in March 2025, when he was still 17, Butler was slapped with 10 felony counts—things like rape by instrumentation, forcible oral sodomy, sexual battery, and domestic assault by strangulation—stemming from accusations by two teenage girls he dated.

The details in the police affidavits are gut-wrenching. One girl, referred to only as “Jane” in court docs, told investigators she dated Butler for about three months starting in January 2024.

She said he’d repeatedly rape her or try to, and if she fought back, he’d strangle her until she gave in. One strangling was so bad she needed surgery on her neck—doctors said another 30 seconds and she’d be dead.

She’s got a scar now that’ll remind her every day, she wrote in her victim impact statement.

The other victim, identified as “K.S.,” was 16 when they dated for six months beginning in March 2024. She described Butler as aggressive and violent, saying she went along with unwanted sex just to avoid getting hurt worse.

In one incident, she alleged he recorded himself strangling her unconscious before raping her.

Negligence: School Continued to Keep the Teens Together

Both girls reported it to school resource officers in September 2024, hoping to protect others. But even after that, the school kept K.S. and Butler in the same class for two weeks, according to her mom, Amanda Sweeney. “It’s been really hard for us as parents,” Sweeney told reporters.

Fast-forward to August 2025: Butler, initially charged as an adult, cut a deal with Payne County prosecutors to switch to “youthful offender” status under Oklahoma law, which prioritizes rehab for kids under 18.

He pleaded no contest to 11 charges (they tacked on one more along the way), and on August 25, the judge handed down a 78-year sentence—if the counts ran consecutively.

But because of the youthful offender tag, the Oklahoma Office of Juvenile Affairs stepped in with a rehab plan instead: daily check-ins, weekly counseling, a strict curfew, no social media, and 150 hours of community service, allily service by the time he turns 19.

No jail. Just that. If he messes up, though, he could still do the full 78.

DA’s Office Defends the Rapist

The DA’s office, led by Laura Austin Thomas, defended the move in a statement: “Nonetheless, after consultation with the victims and their families, we chose to file this matter… in adult court… with hopes of avoiding a later reclassification to juvenile status.”

They noted Butler got the youthful offender option “in accordance with Oklahoma law,” and the deal meant no trial, no cross-examination for the girls.

But the victims’ moms say their daughters were ready to testify, and they’re furious. One wrote in her impact statement: “She still shows up to school, still cheers, still smiles, even when people who should have protected her didn’t. Watching her stay brave while adults failed her has been both inspiring and heartbreaking.”

Republican State Rep. Steps Up

Enter State Rep. J.J. Humphrey, a Republican from Lane who’s had enough. “You can’t make this stuff up,” he told KFOR. “This is novel stuff… And they’re doing it right out in front of everybody.”

He called it straight-up favoritism, pointing to how Payne County hammers other child abuse cases but let this slide. “It looks like favoritism all day long for me,” Humphrey said. “Does it absolutely smack of political favor… so that you can give this guy a slap on the wrist and tell these families they don’t matter?”

He’s already filed one grand jury petition over county cases and says another is coming for this one.

The Butler family’s ties aren’t helping quiet the whispers. Dad’s old OSU gig, Jesse’s spot on the baseball team—folks in this tight-knit college town are connecting dots.

“That’s sketchy as hell,” Humphrey told The Oklahoman. “I don’t care who you are.”

What Comes Next?

True-crime TikToker Justin Shepherd, host of “Just in the Nick of Crime,” has been blowing it up online, with one video hitting half a million views. “People in Stillwater and across the country are fired up,” he said.

Butler’s next court date is December 8, and the rehab clock is ticking—he’s got until 19 to finish those hours.

Neither the judge, Susan Worthington, nor the DA has commented further. For the victims’ families, it’s salt in the wound.

As one mom put it, her daughter isn’t broken, but “the cost of that strength is something most won’t see—the missed school days,” the nightmares, the fear.

In a state where youthful offender laws are meant to give second chances, this case has folks asking: second chance for who? Oklahoma, as Rep. Humphrey put it, better wake up.

Also Read: A DOJ Whistleblower Now Makes Revelation That Undermines the Judicial System’s Integrity

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