A New Hampshire judge on Thursday sentenced a former student at an elite prep school to serve one year in jail for luring an underage classmate into a sexual encounter.
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Labrie had faced up to 11 years behind bars, but prosecutors sought a prison sentence of between three-and-a-half and seven years.
The girl said she has been verbally assaulted by other students since returning to school and has been “living in nearly constant fear”.
Police began an investigation into Owen’s conduct in June 2014 after the victim – who was a freshman at the time -reported he raped her as part of the school’s annual, unofficial sex competition, the “Senior Salute”, which included having sex with a number of girls Owen allegedly has listed on a list he called his “slut f-king bucket list”.
He is free on bail while he appeals his conviction. He was also found guilty of using a computer – specifically, Facebook and email – to lure her.
St. Paul’s is one of the nation’s top prep schools, and its alumni include well-known figures in business and politics, including U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry.
Besides the felony, Labrie also was convicted in August of three counts of misdemeanor sexual assault and one count of child endangerment.
Smukler said he couldn’t sentence him on those charges, but he said he couldn’t ignore what Labrie did to the victim, who hasn’t been identified because she is a juvenile.
According to prosecutors, Labrie said in messages that his “style” was to “feign intimacy – then stab them in the back – THROW EM IN A DUMPSTER – I lie in bed with them – and pretend like I’m in love”. The victim wasn’t with them. What he did to me made me feel like I didn’t belong on this planet and that I would be better off dead.
Labrie was acquitted by a jury of the more serious charges of aggravated rape.
Dr. Edmund Piper, a clinical psychologist who has been treating Labrie for 13 months, called him “remarkable” and ‘mature beyond his years intellectually and responsibility-wise’. She sometimes thinks “it would be easier if I just went away”, she said through tears. “I don’t want to feel imprisoned for the rest of my life”.
He will; however, have to register as a sex offender for life, but after 15 years can petition to be removed.
She also described how the family was “deeply in debt” because of the legal expenses, and how Labrie has spent much of his time building a chapel on his father’s property after having his admission to Harvard’s Divinity School rescinded.
Prior to the ruling, Labrie’s lawyer J.W. Carney requested probation, counseling and community service, saying the two teenagers were friends and the hook-up was consensual.
Carney submitted a collection of testimonials to the judge ahead of Thursday’s hearing, with letters from Labrie’s teachers, friends, an ex-girlfriend, priests and parents vouching for his character.
His attorney, JW Carney, said at sentencing that his client felt “enormous remorse” for the encounter.
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“He’s now known by so many people as the St Paul’s rapist even though the jury rejected that moniker”, Mr Carney said.
