Child seduction charges dismissed against suspended South Bend cop Rico Butler

South Bend police officer Rico Butler had two child seduction charges dismissed due to excluded evidence. Key evidence, including Snapchat messages and Butler’s confession, was deemed inadmissible by the judge. The prosecution failed to establish sufficient evidence linking Butler to the alleged crimes despite showing Butler was near the girl’s home while off-duty. An internal investigation by the South Bend Police Department will follow the conclusion of the criminal proceedings. A South Bend police officer who’s been suspended without pay since last year awaiting trial saw his two charges of child seduction dismissed in court June 24. The St. Joseph County Prosecutor’s office moved to dismiss its case against suspended South Bend Police officer Rico Butler after evidence was excluded from his trial, which began June 23 with jury selection. With messages between Butler and the girl barred from being shown to a jury, as well as Butler’s reported confession, that left a lack of evidence to link Butler to the sex crimes he was accused of. “This is one of those cases where — we’re all familiar with these cases having been in the justice system as long as we all have — when the case we have when
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