By james art 
A suspended Baton Rouge high school teacher and coach was sent to prison for two years Monday after pleading guilty to charges he had sex with a former student.
Johnny Butler, 43, was a health teacher and athletics coach at Istrouma High in May 2023 when he initiated inappropriate sexual contact with a student who was 18 at the time.
He was originally charged with sexual assault, third-degree simple rape and two counts of prohibited sexual conduct between a teacher and a student. He pleaded guilty to charges of criminal sexual conduct and a lesser charge of obscenity on July 1. State prosecutors, for their part, dismissed the most serious criminal charge of sexual assault.
District Judge Fred Krifasi on Monday morning sentenced Butler to three years in prison on the obscenity charge and suspended one year in prison. After completing the remainder of the two-year sentence behind bars, Butler must serve three years of probation, according to the sentence. Judge Krifasi ordered him to undergo a psychological evaluation and prohibited him from coaching, teaching or working with children while under state supervision.
The judge also imposed six-month prison terms on each of the counts, which prosecutors downgraded to felony sexual assault. Butler pleaded guilty again to amended charges Monday that allege he touched the victim inappropriately. Judge Krifasi ordered Butler to serve his sentence for the offenses at the same time he is serving his prison term on an obscenity conviction.
“This was and is a very serious matter,” the judge told Butler. “A 41-year-old who was also a coach and teacher at the school in which the student was enrolled… The conduct occurred at your suggestion – even at your instruction – on school property at a public school in this parish. This cannot go unnoticed.”
A “Welcome Back” sign on the first day of school at Istruma High School, which reopened on August 9, 2017, after the state closed it in 2014.
The facts of the criminal case
The incident happened on the Istruma campus on May 3, 2023, according to East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office investigators. The student told detectives that Butler lured her into a private area and pulled her into a closet where he performed an indecent sexual act.
In an arrest affidavit, the victim said she “froze and couldn’t say anything because she was in a state of shock” when Butler “forced himself” on her. The misconduct was reported to authorities and the teenager allowed investigators to search her phone. Detectives found suggestive text messages sent by Butler to the student prior to the meeting. Deputies later obtained footage from school security that showed Butler and the student together at the high school around the time he told her to meet him.
Butler was fired and arrested days after the incident. In a letter prosecutors released during Monday’s sentencing, the victim said she once thought of Butler as a friend she could laugh and joke with. But the ordeal still haunts her and makes her feel offended.
“I never imagined that someone could make me hate school so much,” the teenager wrote. “After this incident, I felt ashamed and scared of him, avoiding school events like picnic, dinner and banquet. I even almost missed graduation, but I persevered because I refused to let him steal my joy.”
19th Judicial District Court in Baton Rouge.
The civil case is still pending
In a lawsuit filed in April, the student alleged Butler assaulted and beat her. She is suing the East Baton Rouge Parish School Board for damages and emotional distress, accusing district administrators and human resources officials of failing to protect her from the former teacher. The civil case is ongoing, 19th Judicial District records show.
The resolution of Butler’s criminal case happened during a brief hearing in a nearly empty courtroom Monday morning. Krifasi said the embattled Butler has already lost his career because of the case and noted that the fact that he had no prior criminal record worked in his favor. But the judge referred to the power dynamics at play, noting that it made the victim vulnerable.
“You used your status and position to facilitate the commission of this crime and the crime caused significant emotional distress,” Krifassi said. “You shouldn’t have been put in this position at all.”
Butler expressed remorse as he stood by his attorney and agreed to the revised settlement Monday. After the hearing, bailiffs remanded him in custody to begin his prison term.
“I want to apologize to all parties involved,” Butler told the judge. “Hopefully as I move forward, I’ll be able to make better decisions.”