Baton Rouge high school teacher, accused of raping student, has been fired

A Baton Rouge teacher has been fired after he was accused of raping a student in a closet last week, school officials said Wednesday.

An arrest affidavit for Johnnie Butler, a health teacher and track coach at Istrouma High School, says the victim told East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s deputies that Butler had texted her to meet him at a specific part of campus. Once she arrived, the victim said, Butler began to kiss her and pushed her into a closet, the document says. 

The victim told detectives she “froze and could not say anything because she was in a state of shock,” and that Butler pulled her pants down before raping her, the affidavit says. 

The document noted that a sexual assault kit was performed at a nearby hospital. 

After the victim agreed to have her cellphone searched, texts between the victim and Butler revealed that he had previously sent her suggestive messages, according to the arrest affidavit. When Butler met with deputies at EBRSO headquarters, he admitted to deleting text messages between himself and the victim before he arrived, the document says, noting that Butler was not informed of who the investigation involved ahead of time. 

When asked if he thought it was strange he had deleted the messages, Butler replied “no,” the document continues. 

After viewing the messages between himself and the victim, Butler, who denied having any sexual encounters with the girl, declined to answer more questions and requested a lawyer, the document says.

The victim noted that she and Butler had been “communicating via phone for approximately two weeks,” but that she had known him for over a year, according to the arrest affidavit. 

Security footage from the school obtained after the interview showed Butler inside the school’s gym with the victim at the time text messages showed he had asked her to meet, the document says. 

Butler, 41, faces one count each of third-degree rape and prohibited sexual conduct between an educator and a student. 

East Baton Rouge Parish Schools spokesman Ben Lemoine said Wednesday that Butler had been fired from his position. 

EBRSO spokeswoman Casey Rayborn Hicks said detectives are communicating with his attorney in an attempt to convince Butler to turn himself in. Hicks said Butler served as a reserve officer for EBRSO from December 2021 until last week.