PRATTVILLE, Ala. (TCN) — A 37-year-old man will spend the rest of his life in prison on charges of kidnapping and sexually assaulting two underage girls in 2022. Prosecutors called it an “emotional incident.”
The 19th Judicial Circuit District Prosecutors' Office announced. On Thursday, June 13, a judge sentenced Michael Jerome Butler to eight consecutive life sentences in state prison. Butler pleaded guilty in April to two counts of first-degree kidnapping, two counts of first-degree rape, two counts of first-degree sodomy, first-degree robbery and sexual torture.
He also faces charges Victoria Male shot dead In St. Clair County. Her body was found in a wooded area on November 6, 2022. AL.com reports Butler is scheduled to go on trial in November. record show He is now in custody at the St. Clair County Jail.
According to AL.com, on November 3, 2022, two 17-year-old girls were leaving a local Walgreens when Butler kidnapped them, fled in his car and sexually assaulted them at gunpoint. He later allegedly drove to Georgia in the victim's car and committed other crimes, including robberies and armed home invasions.
Elmore Autauga News Report Butler told the victims that the bullets in the gun had their names written on them, but the victims did not know him before the incident. Butler reportedly claimed that he wanted to become a famous serial killer, with a film about his own life.
Leeds Police Department officers arrested Butler after a chase. He crashed into an embankment and fled on foot, but was soon caught and arrested.
Butler is a convicted felon, and 19th Circuit District Attorney CJ Robinson announced his opposition to prison reform in a statement.
He wrote: “The bottom line is simple. … A monster like Michael Butler was sent to prison in South Alabama State Court on his fourth felony offense but has not been seen since being released early without an ankle monitor (required). He has been brought up for supervision. “
Robinson continued: “Butler drove into our circuit and began his reign of terror. There is no excuse, no justification, no amount of money that can alleviate the sickening reality that these unspeakable acts of violence could have been avoided. “He said.
“You have no power over me,” one of the victims told Butler during the sentencing hearing, according to Elmore Autauga News.
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