BATON ROUGE — A former Istrouma High School coach and health teacher was sentenced to two years in prison Monday after admitting he lured a student into a closet for sex.

The WBRZ Investigative Unit had reported last year that Johnnie Butler, 43, initially faced sexual battery and third-degree rape charges. He pleaded guilty in July to lesser offenses of sexual battery and obscenity and 19th Judicial District Judge Fred Crifasi sentenced Butler to three years, with one year suspended.

"He pushed her in a closet in the gym... in the weight room," the student's father told WBRZ last year. "He forced himself up on her. He's a big guy."

After the assault, the teen called a friend whose mother took her to a hospital. A warrant was put out for Butler's arrest, and he was booked on May 11, 2023, after East Baton Rouge deputies found sexually explicit text messages between Butler and the victim linking him to the case.

Butler was placed on leave after the accusation was made and eventually was fired.

The victim's father reached out to WBRZ to discuss the case, asking him to interview on camera so he could look Butler in the eye. 

"My daughter's broken. She's up one minute and the other minute she breaks down," he said then.

Initially, the victim didn't want to press charges, though state law prohibits sexual conduct between an educator and a student. The law says prohibited sexual conduct is committed when an educator has sexual intercourse with a person who is older than 17 and younger than 21, and where there is an age difference of greater than four years.

According to The Advocate, Crifasi told Butler on Monday that his actions "cannot go unaddressed."

The victim has a lawsuit pending against Butler and the school board, saying the East Baton Rouge School District knew or should have known that Butler was capable of forcing himself onto a student.