Greenville man pleads guilty in kidnapping, rape of Prattville teens

PRATTVILLE − A Greenville man pleaded guilty Monday morning in a case in which two teenagers were abducted by gunpoint from a drugstore parking lot in Prattville and later sexually assaulted. The state has recommended a sentence of eight consecutive life terms for the defendant.

Michael Jerome Butler, 37, entered guilty pleas to two counts of kidnapping, two counts of rape, two counts of sodomy and one count each of robbery and sexual torture in the November 2022 case.

The victims, both 17-year-old high school students at the time, sat beside one another in the front row of Autauga County Circuit Judge Joy Booth’s courtroom. A golden retriever emotional support dog sat in front of the young women as Butler stood about 15 feet away during the proceeding.

Butler made no comment, other than to answer Booth’s questions with either a “Yes ma’am” or “No ma’am.” Booth set sentencing for May. 3.

Butler's attorney, Richard Lively, spelled out the evidence the state was expected to present at trial. Butler agreed through Lively about the evidence and the role he played in the attacks.

The process was straight-forward and lasted about seven minutes, but the mood in the courtroom was tense. Booth ordered the courtroom cleared of anyone not connected with the case before the proceeding began.

Butler stood before Booth dressed in bright yellow St. Clair County Jail garb, and he was restrained by handcuffs, leg irons and belly chains. He also had an electronic stun belt under his clothing, officials said.

He also faces murder charges in St. Clair County, where he is accused of killing a woman while he was on the run for about 48 hours after the Prattville attacks, court records show. In addition, he faces home invasion and attempted murder charges in Atlanta for crimes he is accused of committing while on the lam, local prosecutors said.

There was an elevated law enforcement presence in the Prattville courtroom, which included Police Chief Mark Thompson, the command structure of the Prattville Police Department, several investigators and SWAT-trained officers. There were also three correctional officers from the Autauga County Sheriff’s Office, including warden Larry Nixon who held the shock belt button. Prattville Mayor Bill Gillespie sat on a back pew.

The case shocked this community, which prides itself on having a low crime rate. Grisly details emerged during a December 2022 bond hearing for Butler, before Booth, who was then an Autauga district judge.

On the night of Nov. 3, 2022, the teens were abducted by gunpoint from a local store’s parking lot, driven to through two counties where they were raped, also at gunpoint, and had their lives threatened several times, according to testimony.

Scott Baxley, the Prattville Police Department investigator in the case, was the only witness the prosecution called in the bond hearing. He told Booth that Butler was armed with a revolver when he abducted the teens and he forced the teens into a Nissan car that was registered to his mother. Butler drove the teens from Prattville first to Montgomery, then to Lowndes County where the sexual assaults occurred, according to Baxley.

“This is every parent’s nightmare, everyone’s nightmare,” District Attorney C.J. Robinson said then. “It was a random act, we can find no connection between Butler and the victims. These two girls are here by the grace of God and their own fortitude in getting through this together.”

Butler drove the teens back to Prattville where he released them. Baxley said he first spoke with them at the Prattville Baptist Hospital emergency room that night.

An intensive investigation began, and the first break came with surveillance footage from a Montgomery gas station where the victims said Butler drove them. His image was captured on a recording inside the gas station, and Prattville investigators released the image on a statewide lookout seeking information.

Authorities with the Greenville Police Department and the Butler County Sheriff’s Office identified the suspect as Butler. He had five felony convictions in Butler County, all theft-related, dating to 2006, Robinson told Booth.

Once they had his name and vehicle, investigators began tracking him by cellphone data and other means. He traveled to the Atlanta area, where he is a suspect in an armed home invasion, shooting, robbery and other crimes, Baxley told Booth. Butler was also tracked to St. Clair County where he is accused of kidnapping and shooting a woman there. He is charged with murder in St. Clair County in connection with that fatal shooting, court records show. St. Clair law enforcement agencies arrested Butler after a short vehicle chase in Leeds.

During the investigation following the chase, the St. Clair County Sheriff’s Office received the report of a woman’s body found near Pell City. The woman was identified as Victoria Malet, 54, of Lincoln. Court records show. Butler faces murder charges in her shooting death.

Contact Montgomery Advertiser reporter Marty Roney at mroney@gannett.com.