Former owner of martial arts academy accused of child sex abuse

By KATU.com Staff Published: Jan 28, 2013 at 10:41 AM PDT Last Updated: Jan 28, 2013 at 12:19 PM PDT

ALBANY, Ore. – Police arrested a Sweet Home, Ore. man who they said sexually abused a child at an Albany martial arts academy that he owned and operated at the time.

James Butler, 57, was taken into custody at his home on Jan. 25.

Police said the victim, who is now an adult, reported the abuse in December after telling a family member.

It's unclear when the alleged abuse occurred.

Butler owned Academy of Fighting Arts, located at 115 SE 2nd Ave. in Albany, from the late 1980s through 2000. The business specializes in teaching martial arts to children, according to police.

Butler was taken to the Linn County Jail. He faces the following charges:

Sodomy 1 (2 counts)
Sex abuse 1
Using a child in display of sexually explicit conduct

Albany Police believe there could be more victims.

Anyone with information about James Butler or additional victims is asked to call detectives at 541-917-7686.

14 comments

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Julie Leahy Wink

I've known him for years and my kids took karate from him and I don't believe the allegations against him. Â "Innocent until proven guilty"Â

2C7D6152

If the last offense supposedly occurred in 2000, the statute of limitations has already run out (12 years max).

starshadow

Â @2C7D6152Â ORS 131.125 (2) "A prosecution for any of the following felonies may be commenced within six years after the commission of the crime or, if the victim at the time of the crime was under 18 years of age, anytime before the victim attains 30 years of age or within 12 years after the offense is reported to a law enforcement agency or the Department of Human Services, whichever occurs first"

So, in other words - as long as the victim's 18th birthday was after January 28, 2001, the statute of limitations has NOT run out.

JLO

Sounds like someone is hard up on some $$$.Â It's the only reason someone would come forward 10 or 20 years after the fact(?)Â I attended some of Mr. Butler's tournaments in the 1990's and he was a nice, well respected instructor.

MrAchilles

@JLOÂ Â Yeah just like BTK, well respected.Â Or how about the priest that recently got caught smuggling meth from Mexico??Â Â Yeah well respected... so was Jerry Sandusky.Â Naive much?