JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A former Jacksonville police officer who pleaded guilty to sex crimes was sentenced Wednesday to 20 years in prison, plus another 20 years of probation as a sexual predator.
Matthew Butler, 42, pleaded guilty to two counts of attempted capital sexual battery involving two separate survivors. A third charge involving a third survivor was resolved and incorporated into the plea agreement, the State Attorney’s Office said in a news release.
Former JSO officer Matthew Butler appeared in court today after pleading guilty to two counts of attempted sexual battery. The court has designated him a sexual predator and sentenced him to 20 years in prison followed by 20 years of probation. @wjxt4 pic.twitter.com/pU7u8p72SG
— Anne Maxwell (@AnneMaxwellWJXT) October 6, 2021
All three survivors addressed the court with heart-wrenching victim impact statements Wednesday during Butler’s sentencing hearing. He didn’t speak as they poured out the anguish they’ve endured at his hands.
News4Jax does not identify survivors of sexual abuse.
“Every time I think I am past it, a sound or something I see makes it all come back to the day it happened,” the first survivor to speak said. “I feel humiliated and worthless thinking about what happened. It’s a struggle to get out of bed every morning because I wish I could just disappear, and all of this would just go away.”
A 15-year-old spoke of the scars that have lingered for years.
“Every day since you took my childhood from me at the age of 8, you Matthew Butler made it impossible for me to walk down the road at night,” she said.
She said she sees Butler in the face of strangers.
“When I go anywhere and I see someone who is bald and looks as evil as you, all I remember is you Matthew, your mugshot,” the 15-year-old said. “Your mugshot is imprinted in my brain, imprinted in my brain so bad I hurt myself because of you.”
But one thing has helped her get through.
“But then I stop and remember I have to stay alive for this day to get justice not just for me but for every single girl in this courtroom,” the 15-year-old survivor said.
Among the conditions of Butler’s release after his 20-year sentence:
- Psychosexual counseling
- Electronic monitoring
- No contact with children without court approval
- Warrantless searches
- Admitting to his crimes
But Butler’s attorney said he maintains his innocence.
“He has absolutely no recollection of any of these events ever happening,” attorney Mitch Stone said.
The 15-year-old survivor, who spoke to News4Jax after the hearing, said the emotion was clearly one-sided in the courtroom Wednesday.
“He wasn’t even shedding a tear. It looked like he didn’t even change his whole facial expression. There was plenty of victims standing up there crying on the stand, or crying in the seats, and not one facial expression changed, which shows that he is a predator,” she said. “He is a monster, and he obviously doesn’t care what he did to those girls.”
She wants to encourage other survivors to come forward, too.
Butler had worked for the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office for nine years before he was arrested in 2019 on charges including capital sexual battery on a child under 12. Last fall, additional charges were added after another child came forward.
According to a lawsuit, at least one of the children involved was on a girl’s softball team he coached. The lawsuit claims the child was 9 years old when she was sexually assaulted at an activity after a softball game.
In total, Butler has faced more than a dozen charges, including child porn and molestation, but it appears most of them were dropped as part of Butler’s plea agreement.