Former Alberta educational assistant found guilty of sexually assaulting 3 girls

HINTON — An Alberta man has been found guilty of sexually assaulting two students at a school where he worked as an educational assistant.

Court of King’s Bench Justice Lorena Harris also convicted JJ Lenin Butler of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl a decade earlier.

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A trial heard Butler was working in the hamlet of Grande Cache in 2023, when he became “flirty” with the two 16-year-old students who babysat his children.

The judge found the then 28-year-old sexually assaulted one girl near a secluded lake before driving her home, and two weeks later he sexually assaulted both girls at his house.

Butler was also found guilty of possessing child pornography for exchanging sexually explicit texts and nude photos with one victim.

The judge says the texts show Butler was testing his boundaries and took advantage of his position.

“I conclude that Mr. Butler was indeed in a position of trust, power and authority,” Harris said in a written decision this week.

“Mr. Butler himself ... knew the risks he created for himself.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2025.

-- By Aaron Sousa in Edmonton