The Jesse Butler lawsuit is a federal civil case filed in December 2025 by the parents of one of his victims against Stillwater Public Schools, the City of Stillwater, Butler, his parents, a school resource officer, and the high school principal, alleging that the district failed to protect their daughter from ongoing sexual assault and harassment on campus. It runs alongside a separate state-court effort under Marsy’s Law to undo Butler’s plea deal, which a judge rejected in April 2026.
What Butler Was Charged With and How He Was Sentenced
Butler was 17 when he was charged in March with 10 felony counts involving two Stillwater High School students: two counts of attempted rape, three counts of rape by instrumentation, one count of sexual battery, one count of forcible oral sodomy, two counts of domestic assault and battery by strangulation, and one count of domestic assault and battery.1NewsNation. Jesse Butler Case Court Corruption Oklahoma One victim stated in a court filing that Butler choked her unconscious and that a medical professional told her she had been roughly 30 seconds from death.2ABC News. Parents of Oklahoma Teen Sex Assault Victim Speak After
On August 25, 2025, Butler pleaded no contest to all 10 counts before Payne County Special Judge Susan C. Worthington, who granted him youthful offender status under Oklahoma’s Youthful Offender Act.3The Guardian. Oklahoma Plea Deal Rape Conviction The charges carried a combined potential prison term of 78 years. Instead, Butler was ordered to complete a rehabilitation plan running until his 19th birthday: 150 hours of community service, sex-offender treatment, weekly counseling, daily check-ins, a curfew, and a social media ban. If he fails to complete it, he faces reclassification as an adult and a 10-year prison sentence.4OKC Fox. Payne County DA Defends Plea Deal in Jesse Butler Rape Case Amid Backlash Complete the plan and his record can be expunged, with no requirement to register as a sex offender.5KGNS. Protests Erupt After 18-Year-Old Convicted on Rape-Related Charges Faces No Jail Time
Payne County District Attorney Laura Austin Thomas defended the deal on the ground that only the two attempted-rape counts could have been filed in adult court. She also said the relationships between Butler and the victims involved “consecutive dating relationships” in which allegations surfaced after the relationships ended, and that her office wanted to spare the victims a trial. She acknowledged that juries often struggle to convict in delayed-report cases between people in prior consensual relationships.6The Oklahoman. Oklahoma Prosecutor Speaks on Jesse Butler’s Controversial Sentence
The Federal Lawsuit Against the School District and City
On December 22, 2025, Amber and Tyler Selvey sued in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma on behalf of their daughter. The case is Selvey et al v. Independent School District Number 16 of Payne County et al, No. 5:25-cv-01544. Named defendants are Stillwater Public Schools, the City of Stillwater, Jesse Butler, his parents Jacque and Mack Butler, school resource officer Paul Blankinship, and Stillwater High School principal Walter Howell.7News On 6. Jesse Butler Stillwater High School Sexual Assault Lawsuit
The complaint pleads Title IX violations, civil rights violations, negligence, emotional distress, and assault and battery. Its central factual allegations are:
- The victim reported the assaults to an assistant principal on September 12, 2024, and no meaningful investigation or immediate safety measures followed.
- An emergency protective order issued September 26, 2024, was never entered into the school’s internal database, allegedly allowing Butler to violate it repeatedly on campus without staff intervention.
- Mack Butler, an assistant athletic director for the district, allegedly used his position to harass and intimidate the victim at school.
- The district discouraged student protests of Butler’s sentencing by scheduling mandatory senior activities during demonstrations and penalizing students who attended.8KTUL. Lawsuit Claims Stillwater Schools Failed to Protect Victim From Jesse Butler
The family reported the same delay problem in the criminal process: after filing a police report in September 2024, their daughter was kept in a math class with Butler for two weeks while awaiting a forensic interview.2ABC News. Parents of Oklahoma Teen Sex Assault Victim Speak After
The plaintiffs seek more than $75,000 in damages per claim, plus punitive damages and attorney fees, and have demanded a jury trial. One report put the total damages sought at $600,000.8KTUL. Lawsuit Claims Stillwater Schools Failed to Protect Victim From Jesse Butler
Where the Case Stands
Judge Scott L. Palk is presiding. Several defendants have moved to dismiss: Principal Walter Howell on February 3, 2026, Officer Paul Blankinship on February 12, and the City of Stillwater on March 2. The school district filed an answer the same day, and the Butler family filed answers in mid-February. Judge Palk has issued at least one procedural order striking a plaintiff filing for a titling error and directing a refile.9PACER Monitor. Selvey et al v. Independent School District Number 16 of Payne County et al The motions to dismiss remain pending, and Stillwater Public Schools has declined to comment on the active litigation.8KTUL. Lawsuit Claims Stillwater Schools Failed to Protect Victim From Jesse Butler
The Marsy’s Law Challenge to the Plea Deal
The federal suit is not the only legal action arising from the case. In December 2025, attorney Rachel Bussett, representing one of the victims, filed a motion in state court to enforce her client’s rights under Marsy’s Law and the Oklahoma Victim’s Rights Act. Bussett argued that the District Attorney’s office had negotiated the no-contest plea without the victims’ knowledge and that the family had been misled about the terms. She asked the court to set aside the plea deal and hold a corrective hearing.10Court TV. Victim’s Lawyer Files New Motion in Jesse Butler Rape Case
A Payne County judge ordered an evidentiary hearing, held in April 2026, with testimony from the victim, her mother, staff of the DA’s victim services division, and Thomas herself.11KTUL. Judge Orders New Hearing in Jesse Butler Rape Case Amid Marsy’s Law Claims
On April 21, 2026, District Judge Michael Kulling ruled that the victims’ rights were not violated. He found that the DA’s office had notified the victims of the plea deal on July 25, 2025, and had told them on August 22, 2025, three days before entry, that Butler intended to switch from a guilty plea to a no-contest plea. The victims and their families attended the plea hearing and delivered impact statements without objecting on the record to notice. Kulling wrote that Marsy’s Law rights are “participatory and informational in nature, not determinative” and do not let victims “direct, control, or veto prosecutorial decision-making,” concluding that “dissatisfaction with the result does not equate to a denial of rights guaranteed under Oklahoma law.”12The Oklahoman. Oklahoma Judge Rules Victims’ Rights Not Violated Amid Jesse Butler Case Plea Deal Youthful Offender The ruling left the plea deal, and Butler’s youthful offender sentence, intact.
What Happens Next
The federal case is at the motion-to-dismiss stage; whether it proceeds to discovery depends on how Judge Palk rules on the pending motions from the principal, the school resource officer, and the city. Butler’s youthful offender conditions run until his 19th birthday, and any failure to complete them can trigger the 10-year adult sentence held in reserve.4OKC Fox. Payne County DA Defends Plea Deal in Jesse Butler Rape Case Amid Backlash State Representative Justin “JJ” Humphrey has said he intends to petition for a grand jury review of the case.13Newsweek. Jesse Mack Butler Protests Hearing Spared Jail Sexual Assault