Another Alleged High School Rapist Busted for 'Brutal' Assaults: Cops

A Florida teenager allegedly used. violence, threats, and coercion to force. girls to engage in sex acts with him. And Orange County deputies worry there. could be even more victims out there. We. are digging deeper into investigators. conclusions that the high schooler's. behavior was quote emotionally and. [music] physically brutal. And what. happens next? We're going to talk about. it all with a criminal defense attorney. Welcome to [music] Sidebar, presented by. Law and Crime. I'm Jesse Weber. All. right, not to take away from the. seriousness [music] of this topic in any.

way. We're going to jump right back into. it. But look, it is the holiday season. You might be thinking about what to get. somebody. We have a great sponsor that I. want to quickly tell you about. It's the. perfect deal for the perfect gift. It is. the Chef IQ scent smart meat. thermometer. Okay, this is the secret to. stress-free, flawless cooking. So. whether you're a seasoned chef or you're. just starting out, this smart. thermometer, it guarantees perfect. results every time. There's no more. guessing. There's no more over cooking. You just insert it. You select your. food, your cooking method, your. preferred dness. You relax. Your app's. going to alert you when it's time to. flip, remove, rest. It is perfect food.

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recording all this. This is a guy who is. accused of maybe attacking multiple. girls. According to investigators, this. behavior dates back to 2020 when Raphael. O'Reilly Learner would have been in his. early teens. And deputies say their. sights were set on this guy after. someone notified a school resource. officer that a student, according to. prosecutors, was being victimized. And. as they started digging into the. accusations against the teen, they. realized there are potentially more. victims out there, possibly too scared. to come forward. But that could all.

change now that O'Reilly Learner is in. an Orange County jail cell. Now, we've. requested copies of the arrest affidavit. from Orange County court. So far, we. haven't heard back from court officials, but local Florida outlets are reporting. the very disturbing details from. documents that they've seen. So, let's. talk about it. Something that online. court records do show is that O'Reilly. Learner is facing 13 charges. Nine. felonies, four misdemeanors, four counts. of sexual battery of a victim under the. age of 18, four counts of battery by.

strangulation, one count of false. imprisonment, and four counts of. misdemeanor battery. According to an. arrest affidavit and pre-trial detention. motion that were reviewed by multiple. outlets like Fox 35 Orlando and News 6. and the Orange Observer, O'Reilly. Learner allegedly assaulted a. 17-year-old girl multiple times, including at his Orlando home and in his. car. You have neighbor Ruben Ramos who. told Fox 35 Orlando that he saw O'Reilly. Learner get arrested outside of his. house. Said about an hour later, investigators towed his car away. Okay,

so to talk about the specifics of this. case, what's next for the suspect? I. want to welcome back on criminal defense. attorney Joe Tambourino. Joe, thank you. for taking the time. What stands out to. you about the charges that O'Reilly. Learner faces other than the fact that. they're multiple charges and he's so. young. Uh what should we know about. these charges? >> Well, that they're very serious. I mean, under Florida law, and I'm not licensed. in Florida, but under the Florida. statutes for some of these charges with. the sexual battery, you could get up to. life in prison. So, they're very serious.

charges. And also, and this isn't. surprising, unfortunately, in today's. world, which is the threat of releasing. sexual or sexually graphic material of. other individuals. I mean, we hear this. all the time. Like in Minnesota, we have. a revenge porn statute, which means that. if you know, you were in a relationship. with someone and they have, you know, naked pictures of you. If you release. those without their permission, uh, then. you're going to be committing a crime.

>> Yeah. And I want to get into that about. the potential evidence they have against. him. Um, when you look at these charges. and the amount of charges, is it also an. advantage for the prosecutors to move. forward with as much as they possibly. have to use that as leverage to maybe. work out a plea deal? Because I mean. having to take this to trial and having. this alleged victim testify, I always. wonder if they can, you know, assert the. most serious charges they can as a way. to maybe one day negotiate a plea deal. where he pleads guilty to lesser charges.

or some of the charges uh and avoid. trial. >> Yes, I think you're right. Most cases do. end with some type of plea bargain. They. all do. whether it's state, federal, no. matter what state you pick, most cases. are pled out pursuant to some type of an. agreement, especially in these kind of. cases. Because when you have all this. kind of mountain of evidence, meaning. that you not only have the victim's. information, but you have electronic. evidence showing that why, yes, there. are these images of the victim or.

victims. That's a mountain of evidence, and many times you're going to have some. type of deal worked out. But in this. case, I don't see a deal being worked. out that does not include some hefty. amount of prison time. >> I want to go through this a little bit. more. So, you have outlet uh WFL, who. was citing the Orange County deputies, reported that O'Reilly Learner is. accused of multiple sexual battery. incidents between October 29th and. November 13th. School officials were. apparently notified that O'Reilly.

Learner and this 17-year-old alleged. victim had gotten into an argument. before he asked for sex. She apparently. says no, which reportedly led him to. grab her by the neck, the back of the. head, threatened her, this is all. according to the sheriff's office, their. allegations. Now, Learner also allegedly. threatened, and this is what we talked. about before, to leak compromising. photos and videos of this girl to her. parents and the public in general if she. didn't engage in sex acts with him. And. some of those threats were apparently. sent over text messages. So Joe, digital.

evidence trail. I mean, if they have. that, I I don't know how a defense. attorney gets past that. You're absolutely right. And in today's. world, this happens so often where there. is a digital evidence trail. And unless. you have some type of proof being from. the defense side, let's say that someone. else did this, they got control of your. device, somehow they knew of your. passwords and they did this, so they set. you up. Unless you have some evidence of. that, it's very solid stuff coming.

against a defendant. No matter how much. we all know that digital evidence lasts. forever, you know, defendants out there. continue to do this. They continue to. text, email, basically giving the whole. case to the prosecutor. >> I didn't even mention this. There's a. disturbing twist. This 17-year-old. believes that O'Reilly Learner recorded. himself allegedly calling her degrading. names and hitting her and choking her. and raping her. So, the text messages.

are one thing, Joe. That's true. There's. videos of this. I mean, what does. someone say? This is different than like. an adult case. I mean, you know, 18. years old, but you know, a different. kind of case where somebody say, "Oh, well, it's consensual adults who are. involved in some sort of power dynamic. and role playing." That's not what. you're going to have here. I I if these. allegations are true, and this is what. we're seeing. Again, videos, I I don't. know what you do. That's correct. With. the videos, it's going to be very. damaging. But again, not surprising. You.

know, I've been doing this for 37 years. now. I couldn't tell you how many. thousands and thousands of cases I've. worked on over a hund and something jury. trials, state, federal, and it never. amazes me how many times people will. record at least part of their crimes, especially when it gets into the sexual. arena. I've seen cases like this all the. time where the perpetrator, the alleged. perpetrator, will actually have a. recording of something dealing with. their crime. And when that's found,

whether it's given up by, you know, some. witness or pursuant to the execution of. a search warrant, it's highly damaging. to the defendant. >> If these allegations are true, someone. this young, this young, doesn't it's so. different. >> Oh, absolutely. It's so different. Yes. And that's why the law is going to have. a greater penalty. And when you have all. these repetitive acts, what you're also. going to run into from the defense side. is a consecutive type of sentencing. And.

here's what that means. When you have a. number of different acts, but they run. concurrently in sentencing, that means. regardless of how many convictions you. get, they all run at the same time. So. if you got five years on one charge and. five years on the other, with a. concurrent sentence, you're going to. serve five years. However, when you have. these types of cases with which. completely different acts on different. dates, you could get consecutive. sentences, which means they stack. They. add up and they're going to add up fast. >> That's a really good point. That's why. you see the multiple charges there for.

different separate incidents. At least. that's what it appears to be. Now, I. will tell you this. WL discovered. apparently this isn't O'Reilly Learner's. first run in with the law. No. According. to records that they reviewed, you had a. 19-year-old woman accused him of sexual. battery and voyerism back in August. 2023. A 16-year-old said that O'Reilly. Learner threatened to hurt her if she. didn't send him nude images. And this is. shocking. According to WL, investigators. say O'Reilly Learner was also arrested. in connection with some sort of domestic. battery incident in 2020. So, he would.

have been what, just 12 or 13 years old. at the time. Now Joe, from a reporting. point of view, from a narrative point of. view, disturbing, shocking to say the. least. From a view, point of law view, can all of that potentially come in at a. trial? Yes. It's called other act evidence. Let. me give you an example. Method of. operation, someone's mo. If someone is. accused of raping another person by the. use of say certain types of material,

say they use a red rope all the time, they use a yellow bandana to cover the. eyes, they do certain things and they. have a history of doing that or other. acts of doing that. You could use that. to say, "Look, those other acts are. relevant here because this is the guy's. method of operation. It goes to his. intent, his planning." So, what they. could do here in this case is say, "Look, with this guy's other acts, they're relevant here because he does. the same thing. He gets a victim who's.

younger, he sexually abuses them, he. threatens them with something, and he. physically abuses them. So, you could. try to get all of those in. And, you. know, even if the judge only lets some. of it in, it's still going to be very. damaging. >> If you have records that are related to. alleged crimes when, let's say, he was a. minor, aren't those sealed? They can. still come in. >> No, not all not not all the time. Yes, some cases are sealed as a juvenile, but. it depends on state law. There are.

situations where you could use something. from a juvenile's record. It's not. always completely sealed. >> Let me ask you this. So, O'Reilly. Learner appeared in court last week. The. judge denied him bond, forbade him from. contacting any of the alleged victims or. witnesses. I guess that means from. behind bars, right? You know, trying to. use the phone system there. uh. possessing any sort of weapon and also. being online. Take a listen. >> I don't want him on the internet or. being able to photograph or send images. to the alleged victims.

>> Joe, those were those were interesting. conditions, particularly um keeping him. behind bars. You think that's the right. decision? >> Yes, you have to keep someone like this. behind bars or a high bail because they. have a history. It seems like the weight. of the evidence, at least in terms of uh. making a bail decision, is quite great. against him. Of course, he still has the. presumption of innocence. Of course, he. has the right to a complete defense, including an attorney, if he can't. afford one. But when you're a judge, what you have to do is balance out.

public safety with this person's right. to a bail. So many times in a case like. this, depending upon state law, there. will be quite a high bail or no bail at. all. >> Yeah. this statement from the Orange. County Sheriff's Office. It really. hammers home their fears about O'Reilly. Learner's allegedly predatory behavior. because it says he ingratiates himself. to young women, coerces them into sex, becomes extremely violent, and. videotapes and photographs his victims. during sex. Then he threatens them with.

exposing those videos and photos. publicly and to their parents. Our. detectives believe he's a predator and. that this behavior has been going on for. some time and has escalated over time. We're asking anyone who has any kind of. concerning interactions with O'Reilly. Learner to come forward and anybody with. information is being asked to call the. Orange County Sheriff's Office. non-emergency line. The number there on. the screen. We're going to put it up. there as well. It's 407863. help. Joe, do you believe more people. would come forward? And and to be clear,

you know, I'm sure like we've seen. before defense attorney will say, "Well, the floodgates are open. Everybody's. going to make accusations." We see that. more in celebrity cases. But do you. think that this is going to be a. situation where more people may come. forward and you might see additional. charges? >> I wouldn't be surprised if more people. came forward because, you know, let's. face it, somebody just doesn't wake up. one morning and say, "I'm going to rape. someone. I'm going to sexually abuse. someone." Usually, they have some type. of history. What might that history be?

Maybe lesser types of sexual assault or. maybe what's called grooming. When you. mention that the sheriff's department. talked about how he supposedly would. ingratiate himself with these young. girls, that's all part of what's called. grooming evidence. Meaning that you're. trying to get your victim to think what. you're doing and what you will do to. them in the future is okay. You're. trying to get them on your side. Be that. what you're going to do to them is. normal. You see this in many, many child.

sex abuse cases. So all of that is. relevant here. And when you start. executing search warrants, going through. a defendant's email, their computers, iPads, phones, whatever they have, zip. drives, whatever they have, you might. find other evidence. So, I would not be. surprised if other cases arose from. these charges. >> And to be clear, when somebody would. call in, police not only would listen to. the account, but they have to. corroborate it, right? >> Absolutely, they have to corroborate it. Sure. When someone calls in on a tip or.

saying, "Look, this person did this to. me, too." Then a whole new investigation. starts. Of course, that individual will. be debriefed. They'll get a statement. from them and then they will try to. corroborate what they're saying. What is. corroboration? Going through texts, emails, instant messaging, whatever it. is. Seeing if other parties, third. parties saw these individuals together. Seeing if there's any physical evidence. Maybe another person says he was at my. house and in my bedroom and you know I.

still have the blanket or the pillow or. whatever it was that he touched. So you. could try to get DNA evidence from that. So a whole new investigation starts when. you get a new accusation. >> So you know I'm listening to this and. it's eerily reminiscent of another case. that we've been actively covering here. on Sidebar. It's made the headlines as. well. It's the case of Oklahoma teen. Jesse Butler. And I just want your take. on this. So, you have this essentially a. high school predator by all appearances.

Many would say he seems to have gotten. away with his crimes. You know, he was. arrested after two of his. ex-girlfriends, LS and KS, that's how. they were identified, reported to police. that he allegedly sexually assaulted. them throughout the relationships, even. apparently going so far as to film. himself strangling one of the victims. until she lost consciousness. Both girls. reported him to the school in September. of 2024. One got an emergency protective. order, but the reclaim was is that he. kept violating it. There were arrest. warrants that were issued in January and. February of this year. For some reason, they weren't apparently executed for.

weeks, but he was finally arrested at. his home in Stillwater, Oklahoma on. March 4th. >> Okay. >> Okay. All right. Let me know. Thank you. Hello. >> Hello. Are you Jackie? Hi, Jackie. I'm. Detective Bruce with the So Department. Um, we're here because we have a warrant. for Jesse's arrest. I assume you know. that already. Okay. Is he here? >> Yes. >> Okay. >> I told him not to answer the door till I. got home. He's scared. So, >> so here's here's what's going to happen. Like, we're going to take him into.

custody there. His bond is 25,000. >> Once he gets to the jail and we get him. booked in, well, I guess on the way to. the jail, I guess you could contact a. bondsman. >> Yeah. >> And or I mean, if you have 25 grand. lying around, you can do that. But um if. you contact a bondsman then they can. post his bond and he can get right out. today. >> Okay. >> So um and. >> like what kind of time frame does that. look like? Just out of curiosity like. midnight tonight or. >> like you can contact a bondsman and it. might be like an hour and a half or. something. >> Candy Baker. I'm sure y'all know she's.

the one that told me. >> it's a pretty quick process. we just. like have to get him booked in and then. once he's booked in. >> um and just so you know he is a juvenile. so he won't be like with any adults like. where. >> he can't be housed with any adults. >> Okay. >> Um so there is a chance that he may be. moved over to Payne County but for right. now depending on how long it takes you. to get um get with her and get bond. right back. So. >> then um then he'll probably just be at. our facility at the city of Still Water.

>> and she can call us that. >> um it just like we can only hold him for. 6 hours. >> Oh, okay. So if I get it done now, we're. good. He's not going to be moved. >> No. Okay, perfect. Okay. >> He shouldn't be. The only big hold up is. if we have somebody else in the jail. because we can't have them intermingle. Um I think if they're booking somebody. in it, it can hold us up like maybe 15, 20 minutes, something like that. But. it's not going to be a long. >> Okay. >> thing generally.

We're ready to obviously tell our story, too. >> Yeah. >> Jess, it's mom. Open the door. Give me your um wallet and phone and. stuff. So, >> your what? >> Well, okay. It's fine. It's not locked. or anything, is it? Okay. So, can you. tell him what you just told me or? >> Yeah. Um, so we're here. Um, we're. obviously going to place you under. arrest. There's a warrant for your. arrest. We're going to take you to the. jail. Um, I told your mom that she can.

contact a bondsman and um, you shouldn't. be very there very long. Um, [snorts]. but there just is a process for. paperwork and stuff. Um, but right now. you do have to come with us and I do. have to put you in handcuffs. So, turn. around for me. Do you know this? >> Yeah.

>> I'll get you out for me. All right. Stay. silent. Rick knows about this. Candy's. on this. Dad's on his way. We're coming. to get you. Okay. Stay strong. Okay. Say. your prayers. >> Okay. So we will he's going to go right. to the city of Stillwater Jail and if. you'll just contact her then she she. does this all the time. She knows what. to do. >> Yeah. Make sure she knows Stillwater. Police Department not a county. >> water police department on Lewis. >> Yeah. >> Let know that we're the ones that.

>> And when you say we are. >> Still Water PD Still Water PD Okay. That. way they don't think you went like. straight over.

you. Spread your feet for me. and this is where it took a radical. change. So Butler entered a no contest. plea to a long list of sexual crimes, rape, attempted rape, strangulation. And. in this plea, right, a defendant doesn't. admit their guilt necessarily. They also. don't dispute the allegations, but. they're pleading no contest. They're.

convicted. And the now 18-year-old. Butler, he was facing more than 75 years. behind bars potentially. But in this. reversal, the court granted Butler a. youthful offender status, meaning. instead of prison, he was given. probation, conditions that require him. to do things like complete therapy. And. according to the victim's parents, Butler seemed like a perfect high school. boyfriend. And they were shocked when. their daughters revealed what was. allegedly happening behind closed doors. And we're trying to make sense of it. And we actually had a chance to speak. with the attorney who is representing. KS. So Rachel Busett spoke to her on.

Monday. She is arguing that her client's. rights under Marcy's law were violated. Essentially that she wasn't properly. consulted or heard before that. controversial plea was struck and didn't. know what was going on until the last. minute. So Marcy's Law is a crime. victim's bill of rights and it was. passed into the Oklahoma Constitution in. 2018 supplemented by statutory. definitions and processes that are. supposed to be given to victims. Along.

the way, if you read through the. statement of facts and procedural. history in the case, you'll see that. there were a number of times where my. clients weren't given proper notice. they didn't follow simple procedural. aspects of what we're supposed to do as. lawyers. There were other times where. they were given partial information or. no information at all or the information. that they were given was given in such a. way that they didn't have a meaningful. time to process it, work through it and. understand it. So there are different.

things that happened at different times. And is the goal for Jesse Butler to. ultimately be re-sentenced, for the. youthful offender status, to be stripped. away, for him to be sentenced as an. adult, for him to get prison time? Is. that something or is it at the very. least for your client, her family, to be. heard, to just be heard in a courtroom? Um, what is the the outcome that you're. looking for? Um, at this point, >> we're looking for an outcome that holds.

him accountable. And I know there are. going to people be people that say, "Well, this does hold him accountable as. a youthful offender." But the biggest. thing is he hasn't admitted what he's. done. For the youthful offender act to. work the way that it's supposed to act, there has to be a taking of. responsibility. And he hasn't taken any. responsibility here. So, we need some sort of admission of of. responsibility at a minimum. >> Yeah. So, Buset confirmed that the. victims and their families, they were. told about the new youthful offender. status of the case just before Butler's.

hearing. Joe, what is your reaction to a. case like this? What is your reaction to. the the sentence that he was given? Uh, and when we're talking about, you know, a young man who who pled no contest to. sexual related crimes and we're talking. about another young man who's accused of. sexual related crimes. Um, should they. be given the same punishment as an. adult? Your thoughts? >> Well, it depends on the circumstances. It truly does. I think in this case, the.

O'Reilly Learner case, I doubt he's. going to get any type of youthful. offender status, if such exists in. Florida. I just don't see this case as. falling into that. In terms of the. Oklahoma case, yes, I was surprised at. that outcome. I was more surprised by. the allegation that you just put forth. that the prosecutor wasn't properly. communicating with the victim and the. victim's family. And here's why with. that, every state in the union and the. federal government have victim rights. laws like you mentioned the Marcy laws.

And whenever a prosecutor is going to. offer some type of plea bargain to the. defendant, in most states that I know. of, the prosecutor has to let the victim. or the victim's family, if they are. juveniles, know what's being offered so. that they could put in their proper. objection. Now, a victim can't quote. unquote tube the deal, meaning that they. could go into court and say, "Do not. accept this plea." And actually make a. specific motion for that. But they could. let their voice be heard. They could say. to the judge, they could say, "Look,

we're against this plea. We've told the. prosecutor that." So, they have a right. to be given their day in court. So, I. was surprised at that allegation that. the prosecutor supposedly did not. communicate with the alleged victim in. the case. What I would want to know, and. I don't know Oklahoma law, is whether or. not the prosecutor, because of the. sentence that was given, is going to do. any type of an appeal of the sentence. You see, if a prosecutor offers a deal. to someone, and the judge follows that. deal, well, then the prosecutor is not.

going to appeal. But if someone simply. walks in, pleads no contest, and the. judge on their own decides to do. something, the prosecutor in many. situations does have a right to an. appeal. So, we'd have to get into the. very finer points of that. >> No, it's interesting. I will tell you. the uh DA's office there is uh refuting. the allegations that are being alleged. against them about uh their role in all. this and not keeping the victims aware. of it. So there is a back and forth. If. anybody wants to follow that, I did a. sidebar on it again Monday, but Joe,

thank you so much for taking the time. Really, really appreciate it. Um I know. this is a a really disturbing case, but. uh always appreciate your expertise. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> And that's all we have for you right now. here on Sidebar. Everybody, thank you so. much for joining us. And as always, please subscribe on YouTube, Apple. Podcast, Spotify, wherever you should. get your podcast. You can [music] follow. me on X or Instagram. I'm Jesse Weber. I'll speak to you next time.