An Oklahoma teenager, accused of sexually assaulting and strangling two female high school students, avoided serving any prison time, leading to public uproar as the family of one victim plans to take legal action.

“Our focus now shifts to a new chapter, which is pursuing civil litigation,” stated Rachel Bussett, the attorney for one of the victimized girls’ families, during a conversation with News Media.

Jesse Mack Butler found himself facing adult charges at 17, which included attempted first-degree rape, rape by instrumentation, sexual battery, forcible oral sodomy, and domestic assault and battery by strangulation. Despite these serious charges, he later secured youthful-offender status and entered a no contest plea to all 11 accusations in August 2025.

Rather than being incarcerated, Butler was placed under the oversight of the Oklahoma Office of Juvenile Affairs and required to complete a rehabilitation plan. As Butler celebrated his 19th birthday at the stroke of midnight on Aug. 4, the court no longer held jurisdiction over him, resulting in the dismissal of the case by law.

For the family she represents, Bussett said, the outcome was painful but hardly unexpected.

“They were sad and upset, obviously, because they didn’t want the deal to go through this way, but they weren’t surprised,” Bussett said. “They knew that it was going to happen from the beginning.”

The family may now have two possible paths forward.

80% OF CLAIMS IN AMERICA’S LARGEST SEXUAL ABUSE SETTLEMENT IN HISTORY COULD BE FRAUDULENT, LA DA SAYS

Bussett said the family is preparing for civil litigation while also hoping federal authorities take a fresh look at the case.

She said her understanding is that materials are being referred for review to determine whether content allegedly found on Butler’s phone could qualify as child sexual abuse material (CSAM) and whether it was distributed. Bussett said her client had seen material she believes was on the phone.

“We know that that’s a long shot,” Bussett said of possible federal action, “but we’re holding confident in the process.”

News Media has reached out to the Department of Justice for additional information on the case.

Bussett also blasted her client’s treatment during the earlier prosecution, describing an encounter with the former elected district attorney that she characterized as a “mock cross-examination.”

Bussett said the teen believed she was speaking with someone she could trust to protect her, only to feel “absolutely attacked.”

“Not only are they often not believed, but then they’re attacked by those who are supposed to help them,” Bussett said of sexual-assault victims coming forward.

News Media has reached out to the previous district attorney for comment.

Beyond the family’s troubling encounters with public officials, Butler’s defense attorney, Derek Chance, drew further criticism at the hearing after suggesting Butler was innocent and had been victimized by the case, according to newly elected Payne and Logan County District Attorney Jeremiah Gregory.

“Today’s hearing included disingenuous assertions from the defense regarding the defendant’s innocence, that he was the victim in this matter and that the victim’s assertions were false and had no bearing. The defense portrayed that somehow the perpetrator suffered more than these victims. What was said was insincere, untruthful and an affront to these victims and what they have endured,” Gregory said in a statement.

“Nothing has made my blood boil more.”

Gregory said constitutional double jeopardy protections bar Oklahoma from prosecuting Butler a second time, and he has contacted the appropriate federal agency to request a prosecutorial review of the case.

“I cannot undo what has already been done,” Gregory said, “but I can — and will — continue to stand as a strong voice for all victims of violent crime.”

News Media reached out to the Payne and Logan County District Attorney’s Office, the Oklahoma Office of Juvenile Affairs and Butler’s attorney for additional comment.

Jamie Lee Curtis didn’t hold back her feelings about her experience on the set of “New Girl,” expressing a strong distaste for the series’ shooting style.

Speaking at NBCUniversal’s Summer Backlot Experience in Los Angeles, Curtis revealed, “I did a single-camera [comedy], which I hated.”

While the acclaimed actress praised the popular comedy as “a great show” and “very funny,” her frustration with the production process was evident.

The Oscar-winning star, now 67, likened her stint on the Fox sitcom to working on a film set, saying it lacked the energy of a live audience.

“There’s a camera crew, and nobody laughs,” she lamented, describing the experience as “silent, and it’s awful. For me, awful.”

Curtis added, “Single-camera comedies, for me, not fun.”

Curtis played Zooey Deschanel’s onscreen mother, Joan, in five episodes of the Fox series.

Jess’s (Deschanel) dad, meanwhile, was played by the late Rob Reiner.

Speaking to Collider in 2012, Deschanel, 46, gushed over the two A-listers being cast as her parents.

“So, we talked about a bunch of people, and these were just beyond my wildest dreams,” she said. “They’re people that I think would be just so perfect.  I can’t wait to start shooting with them.”

“New Girl,” which also starred Jake Johnson, Max Greenfield and Lamorne Morris, aired from 2011 to 2018, and grew in popularity after it landed on Netflix.

While Curtis had a negative experience on “New Girl,” she had praise for her ’80s ABC sitcom “Anything But Love,” which she starred in opposite Richard Lewis.

“It was my favorite job I’ve ever had,” Curtis said at the NBCUniversal panel. “And I’m 68 years old, and every single year, all I’ve ever said to my agents is ‘I want to do a sitcom, all I want to do is a sitcom.’”

She continued, “I love the whole part of it, every aspect of it, the dance with the cameras, the idea that you actually get to rehearse something and work it and learn a joke and play it.”

Curtis said she even “begged” her agents to do another sitcom — and her wish came true with NBC’s new series “Newlyweds,” which she co-created, executive produces and appears in as a guest star.

“I like to refer to myself as the HBIC. Head bitch in charge,” she said with a laugh. “I’m 68 years old. I’ve wanted to be a boss my whole life.”

“I’ve been doing it not as a boss for a long, long time. And now I’m a boss, and I love it.”

As the UK waits for the premiere date of “Cookie Queens,” a film helmed by Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, the mixed reception it garnered in the US suggests that British movie-goers might not be eagerly lining up to see it. The response across the pond has been lukewarm at best.

Debuting in American theaters on August 7, the documentary delves into the activities of US Girl Scouts who sell cookies in a classic, six-week fundraising tradition that dates back to the First World War. The film shines a spotlight on this time-honored ritual.

Variety, a publication previously seen as supportive of the royal couple, has offered a critical take on the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s latest production from their company, Archewell Productions. The review labeled the documentary as veering too far into “reality-show ramble” territory.

Owen Gleiberman, a critic for the site, expressed that the film was emotionally lacking. He wrote, “Cookie Queens is a movie about precocious American girls learning to work the system, not fight it,” highlighting a perceived disconnect between the film’s execution and its potential emotional impact.

Gleiberman further critiqued the film for its narrow focus, adding, “The movie unfolds entirely in the present and never gives you even a fleeting sense of the past, of how Girl Scout Cookies rose in prominence to become the phenomenon they are today.” This oversight, he suggests, detracts from the film’s overall historical depth.

The San Francisco Chronicle added the film is ‘as staged as it is sweet’ with critic Carla Meyer offering a frank appraisal of the regal executive producers’ efforts, suggesting the film ‘contains the same level of spontaneity as their other media projects. That is to say, next to none.’ 

Over at The Boston Globe, there was a more upbeat response; the Massachusetts newspaper said Cookie Queens delivered ‘surprising honesty and more than a little bite’, adding: ‘It puts some hard truths in the figurative mouths of babes, sneaking them in with a spoonful of sugar rather than a sledgehammer.’ 

Real-life audiences liked it more than the critics, although one viewer on Rotten Tomatoes called the 91-minute film ‘one of the worst documentaries I have ever seen’, while another suggested buying the cinema ticket was a ‘waste of money’. 

The film, directed by Alysa Nahmias, fared dismally at the box office though, making less than £250,000 from showings in 446 cinemas and failing to dent the top ten releases. It is Harry and Meghan’s executive producer debut.

Neither Archewell Productions nor its distributor Roadside Attractions have revealed the costs to make and screen the project. 

The film received support from the Sundance Documentary Fund and aired at the Sundance Film Festival in Salt Lake City in January. 

While there was also a special screening of the documentary on July 29, with Meghan posing alongside Alysa Nahmias, there appears to have been limited promotion ahead of its release.

The lukewarm response is yet another blow for Meghan and Harry’s hopes of becoming big players in Hollywood. 

The $100million (£74million) Netflix contract the couple signed in 2020 was downgraded to a ‘first look’ deal last summer. The streaming giant scored a hit with their first tell-all documentary Harry & Meghan but subsequent projects have fallen flat.

Despite the ongoing relationship, Cookie Queens was not picked up by the streaming platform.

According to movie website Box Office Mojo, the movie generated just £500 per cinema screening and, embarrassingly, was beaten by CatVideoFest 2026, which pulled in £421,334 despite airing in 191 fewer screens than Cookie Queens.

The film, described by Meghan as ‘absolutely irresistible’, follows the highs and lows – including rude customers and stressful deadline – of girls aged five to 12 during Girl Scout Cookies season.

The season sees young members of the Girl Scouts Of The USA selling shop-bought cookies to sell. 

During The Apprentice-style challenge, the scouts are tasked with marketing, budgeting and selling the biscuits to fundraise as much as they can from January to April for local charity projects and troops. 

Roadside Attractions told US entertainment website Deadline that the film had performed well with groups of current and former girl scouts.

‘We’re encouraged by the response and believe the film has a long life ahead as it continues to reach its many audiences,’ they said.

The film also has a positive score on Rotten Tomatoes, with a 92 per cent approval rating from 49 reviews – although much of the praise focuses on the young stars of the documentary rather than the film-making.  

One offered a glowing five stars, saying: ‘I loved it. The girls were great showing different personalities and perspectives. For those of us who sold cookies ages ago, it is a real nostalgia trip.’ 

Another said: ‘More of a coming-of-age story than a documentary. These girls will melt your heart, but it doesn’t shy away from the mental toll cookie selling has on them.’ 

However, one disappointed viewer raged in a post written on Monday: ‘One of the worst documentaries I have ever seen. It was honestly the most boring film from start to finish. 

‘I did not go into it with a biased opinion and was hoping to see a good film but I was seriously let down. Don’t waste your time or your money. It was terrible.’

Another who paid for her grandchildren to see the film on Saturday, wrote: ‘Absolute waste of money. Took my grandkids and we were bored to tears. 

‘Also didn’t like that it seemed to make the Girl Scouts and brownies all about sell, sell, sell cookies and didn’t really represent what the Girl Scouts and brownies are really about.’

Since the Duke and Duchess of Sussex first dipped their toes in the world of Hollywood six years ago, the couple have found they’ve experienced the film industry’s ruthless nature first-hand. 

In 2025, Netflix had a stake in her Meghan’s lifestyle and cookery brand As Ever, which includes her jam, rosé wine and flower sprinkles, and helped launch the corresponding Netflix series – which aired for two seasons with an additional holiday special. 

However, earlier this year it was announced the brand had split from Netflix and Meghan would instead take complete control of As Ever.

A source told The Sun at the time: ‘Meghan is still on good terms with the Netflix team and close personal friends with Ted [Sarandos], so hasn’t wanted to upset him, but is very happy to have full control of the company.

‘It’s a good time for Meghan to have complete control, given recent successes.

‘Netflix have been a good partner, but she’s wanted to go global with the brand for some time, but has been held back by the more cautious Netflix team.’

Last August, the couple signed a more restrictive, first-look agreement with Netflix.

Meghan described the deal at the time as ‘an incredible sign of the strength of our partnership’, despite rumours the network may be pivoting away from her and Harry.

The latest film development comes months after it was announced that the couple were involved in another Netflix film production, an adaptation of romance novel The Wedding Date by bestselling author Jasmine Guillory.

The book was published in 2018 and became the first in a six-book series.

It is being adapted by screenwriter Tracy Oliver who was behind the 2017 movie Girls Trip, and the couple are producing the movie alongside Ms Ryerson.

A blurb for the Wedding Date book says: ‘A groomsman and his last-minute guest are about to discover if a fake date can go the distance in a fun and flirty debut novel.

‘Agreeing to go to a wedding with a guy she gets stuck with in an elevator is something Alexa Monroe wouldn’t normally do. But there’s something about Drew Nichols that’s too hard to resist.’

The couple’s other major media deal with Spotify ended in 2023 after one season of Meghan’s podcast Archetypes, with one of the streaming giant’s executives later branding them ‘grifters’.