Backlash is intensifying in Oklahoma after a teenager accused in a series of violent sex assaults avoided prison time, prompting swarms of people to protest outside a courthouse amid renewed scrutiny of how the justice system handled the case.

Images show more than a hundred people gathering outside the Payne County Courthouse Wednesday carrying signs demanding justice after 18-year-old Jesse Butler avoided prison under Oklahoma’s youthful offender law, The Oklahoman reported.

“Ponca Tribal Victim Services is standing in solidarity with survivors demanding Justice!,” the organization wrote in a post on Facebook. “Jesse Butler needs to be held accountable! Payne county Judge Susan Worthington should be disbarred.”

The demonstrations followed days of anger online and in the community after Butler, who pleaded no contest to multiple sex assault charges, received a 78-year sentence that was suspended under Oklahoma’s youthful offender law, allowing him to remain free if he completes court-ordered rehabilitation.

NEWLY RELEASED VIDEO SHOWS COPS CUFFING TEEN LINKED TO VIOLENT SEX ASSAULT SCANDAL THAT HAS FAMILIES FUMING

A spokesperson for Stillwater Public Schools told Fox News Digital that staff had met with police last week to prepare for possible protests, designating areas for demonstrators and media and placing extra officers on campus “out of an abundance of caution.”

“We condemn sexual assault and violence in all its forms,” the school district shared in a statement. “Our thoughts, prayers and hopes for justice are with the victims in our community and everywhere.”

The Stillwater Police Department said in a release it is working with Stillwater Public Schools to investigate “recent phone calls and messages to the district regarding the enrollment of student Jesse Butler.”

“While the language used in the phone calls and messages are vague and not directed at specific school sites, students or staff, all concerning communications and any potential threats are taken seriously and investigated fully,” the department wrote.

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Authorities said additional patrols have been added out of an abundance of caution. Butler, who was previously a Stillwater student, does not attend in person and is barred from school property and events, police confirmed.

A newly released body camera video shows the moment Butler was arrested last year, part of an investigation that began after multiple girls accused him of brutal sexual assaults.

WATCH: Police bodycam shows arrest of Oklahoma teen Jesse Butler 

Then 17, Butler pleaded no contest to 10 rape-related charges and one count of violating a protective order. Although he received a 78-year sentence, the term was suspended under Oklahoma’s youthful offender law, allowing him to remain free if he meets strict rehabilitation terms.

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Victims’ families and community members have condemned the outcome. Some protesters on Wednesday held signs noting Butler’s connection to Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, where his father is the former director of football operations.

“As a mom, I never thought I’d have to watch my daughter fight this kind of battle, one where she had to prove she was the victim over and over again,” one mother told KOCO. “The justice system failed her.”

One victim said Butler strangled her, and a doctor warned that she could have died had it lasted “seconds longer,” according to a police affidavit reviewed by Fox News Digital.

The Payne County District Attorney’s Office said the decision to pursue the case under the youthful offender law was based on Butler’s age at the time of the crimes. The office said the law allows supervision “until the defendant’s 19th birthday” and gives a chance for rehabilitation “while still holding him accountable.”

Rep. Justin “JJ” Humphrey, R-Okla., called the ruling “unacceptable” and said he plans to petition for a grand jury review.

“If that don’t set you on fire, your wood’s wet,” Humphrey previously told Fox News Digital. “You know what I mean? You’ve got a bad deal. That sets me on fire.”

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Court documents show Butler remains under Office of Juvenile Affairs supervision, required to complete therapy, counseling, more than 100 hours of community service, daily check-ins and weekly sessions. He’s banned from social media and subject to curfew restrictions.

If Butler violates any terms, the court could enforce his full 78-year sentence. His next hearing is scheduled for Dec. 8 in Payne County District Court.

Stepheny Price covers crime, including missing persons, homicides and migrant crime. Send story tips to stepheny.price@fox.com.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other federal and Texas officials carried out a massive 10-day operation in Houston that resulted in over 1,500 arrests, including of aggravated felons, gang members, sexual predators, a murderer and others.

In a Wednesday statement, ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Field Office Director Bret Bradford announced that “despite the conditions becoming increasingly dangerous for our officers as a result of the spread of violent political rhetoric and intentionally false information,” agents arrested 1,505 illegal aliens in a southeast Texas operation that ran Oct. 22-31.

Bradford said the arrests of gang members, child predators and other violent criminals “prevented countless Houstonians from having to suffer from the nightmares and PTSD that come with being a victim of violent crime.”

These arrests came after another ICE Houston operation in August resulted in 822 arrests and another in February and March that led to 543 arrests.

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In total, the October operation resulted in the arrests of 17 documented gang members, 40 aggravated felons, one convicted murderer and 13 sexual predators, according to the ICE statement. Offenses committed by those arrested included 115 aggravated assaults, 142 DWIs, 55 drug offenses and 31 weapons offenses. The agency also said that 255 of those arrested had been previously deported from the U.S. at least once.

Nearly one-third of those arrested have been ordered removed from the U.S. by an immigration judge, according to ICE.

The agency highlighted some of the worst of the worst offenders nabbed in the operation, which included Selvin Joel Lara Diaz, a 35-year-old previously deported child predator and Mexican mafia member. According to ICE, Lara Diaz was convicted of raping and impregnating his own minor sister. He was arrested hiding in the shelves of a Houston-area grocery store.

Another, Marlon Odir Gomez Hernandez, a 29-year-old suspected MS-13 gang member from El Salvador, had previously been arrested in his home country for aggravated extortion. ICE officials chased Gomez Hernandez into a washateria where he climbed through the ceiling panels and became wedged in a sign on the side of the building, according to the agency.

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A third, Rony Andy Martinez Lopez, 27, from Honduras, was arrested during the operation after being previously deported and convicted of lewd and lascivious acts with a minor and cruelty towards a child.

Vongphachan Phothisome, a 53-year-old from Laos, was also arrested and has been convicted of sexual exploitation of a minor.

Salvador Ramirez-Carrillo, a 46-year-old from Mexico, had previously been deported four times. He is a member of the Paisas gang and has been convicted of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and evading arrest with a vehicle.

Another, Rey David Bautista-Antonio, a 27-year-old also from Mexico, was arrested and has been convicted of three DWIs.

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Bradford said that thanks to the “unwavering commitment” of the ICE agents to “defend this community from foreign criminal invaders and other illegal aliens who undermine our rule of law, a previously deported Mexican Mafia gang member convicted of raping and impregnating his underage sister who is also wanted in Mexico for murder is no longer free; A four-time deported Paisas gang member arrested for DWI and convicted of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and evading arrest with a vehicle is no longer beating up law-abiding Americans or driving intoxicated on our roadways; and five other criminal alien child predators are no longer free in the community preying on innocent children.”

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“While it’s impossible to put a measure on the crimes that will never happen as a result of their efforts during this operation, I can tell you with certainty that they’ve saved lives and prevented countless Houstonians from having to suffer from the nightmares and PTSD that come with being a victim of violent crime,” said Bradford.

Two men accused of killing two Kansas mothers and hiding their bodies in a buried freezer pleaded not guilty Wednesday in an Oklahoma courtroom.

Tad Cullum, 43, and Cole Twombly, 50, entered their pleas to multiple charges connected to the deaths of 39-year-old Jilian Kelley and 27-year-old Veronica Butler. Both men are charged with two counts of first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder, unlawful removal of a dead body and unlawful desecration of a human corpse, according to court records.

Cullum’s trial is scheduled to begin June 1, 2026, while Twombly’s is set for Oct. 19, 2026.

During Wednesday’s hearing, the judge approved a motion allowing defense attorneys for Cullum, Twombly and co-defendant Tifany Adams to access jail phone calls and text messages made by all five defendants in the case. Authorities have said some of the suspects are linked to a religious, anti-government group called “God’s Misfits.”

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In a separate ruling, the judge ordered that several personal belongings be returned to the victims’ families, including Kelley’s wedding ring and Butler’s vehicle.

After the hearing, Butler’s mother told KSN News that the best way to honor the women’s memories is through prayer, asking the community to pray for “redemption, forgiveness, and salvation for everyone involved.”

Authorities say Butler and Kelley vanished on March 30, 2024, while driving to pick up Butler’s children. Their car was found abandoned near the Oklahoma–Kansas border under suspicious circumstances.

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Two weeks later, investigators discovered their bodies inside a chest freezer buried in a rural cow pasture in Texas County. Both had been stabbed to death, according to the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI).

The agency announced the arrests of Cullum, Twombly, Tifany Machel Adams, 54, and Cora Twombly, 44, on April 13, 2024, in connection with the murders. A fifth suspect, 31-year-old Paul Grice, was taken into custody shortly afterward.

Last month, Adams pleaded no contest to two counts of first-degree murder and related charges involving the unlawful handling and concealment of the victims’ remains. Court documents confirm the plea included additional counts of unlawful removal and desecration of a human corpse, and that the state agreed not to seek the death penalty in her case.

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In December 2024, KSN reported that two plea deals were announced in the case and that prosecutors moved to have Cora Twombly and Grice testify during preliminary hearings.

Texas County District Attorney George H. Leach III has announced plans to seek the death penalty against both Cullum and Cole Twombly.

According to court filings, the state is seeking the death penalty for both men, citing multiple aggravating factors. The state said the murders were “especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel,” that they were “committed to avoid arrest or prosecution,” and that the defendants pose a “continuing threat to society.”

Prosecutors allege the murders were planned over several weeks and that the victims suffered extensive physical abuse and stab wounds before their deaths.

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Investigators allege several of the suspects were part of a religiously affiliated, anti-government group called “God’s Misfits.” Authorities believe the killings were tied to an ongoing custody dispute involving Butler’s children.

At the time of the women’s disappearance, Adams’ son, Wrangler Rickman, who had custody of the children, was in a rehabilitation facility. Butler had been allowed supervised visitation every Saturday and, according to court records, was expected to gain unsupervised visitation rights in the coming weeks.

Stepheny Price covers crime, including missing persons, homicides and migrant crime. Send story tips to stepheny.price@fox.com.