A Jefferson City man has been charged with one count of first-degree rape in Boone County court for an incident that occurred in Columbia in April 2017.
Jemell Butler 22, is believed to have attacked a woman in a wooded alley after walking her from a bar in the downtown area.
While in the alley, the victim said, Butler took her purse and cellphone and threw them in the brush, according to a Columbia Police Department probable cause statement. He then threw the victim to the ground, forcibly removed her clothing and sexually assaulted her. The victim was able to get one of her arms free and strike Butler, who then ran away.
The victim had given some of the clothing she wore the night of the attack to authorities, who sent it to the Missouri Highway Patrol Crime Lab in Jefferson City for testing. They obtained a DNA sample, and in January they matched the sample to Butler.