Video evidence. Multiple felony counts.
And an 18-year-old who should’ve faced decades in prison — but didn’t.
In Payne County, Oklahoma, Jesse Butler pleaded no contest to multiple violent felonies: rape, attempted rape, assault by strangulation, and rape by instrumentation.
Each count carried heavy time — up to 78 years combined.
But thanks to a stunning plea deal, Butler walked free.
No prison. Just community service, counseling, and “youthful offender” status.
The agreement was signed off by Judge Susan C. Worthington, prompting outrage from victims, advocates, and law-abiding citizens who can’t fathom how this could happen.
A young woman nearly strangled to death — doctors saying seconds longer and she’d be gone — and the man responsible goes home.
On Hidden Killers with Tony Brueski, former FBI Special Agent Jennifer Coffindaffer joins to break down how plea mechanics, influence, and institutional apathy intersect to create decisions that mock justice itself.
We explore how Oklahoma’s Youthful Offender Act was never intended for predators like Butler — and how misuse of that statute now threatens public safety statewide.
This conversation asks the questions prosecutors and judges won’t:
What message does this send to survivors?
How many future victims will stay silent after seeing a predator walk free?
And what does it say when violent offenders are given “second chances” while victims are left with life sentences of trauma?
This isn’t about vengeance.
It’s about proportion.
It’s about a justice system that’s supposed to protect the vulnerable — and instead, too often, protects the well-connected.
#JesseButler #HiddenKillers #TonyBrueski #JenniferCoffindaffer #TrueCrimeToday #JudgeWorthington #OklahomaJustice #RapeCase #PleaDeal #YouthfulOffender
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