St. Paul’s School Settles Civil Suit With Prout Family

CONCORD, NH — St. Paul’s School has settled a civil lawsuit brought by the family of a former student after a statutory rape incident at the school in 2014. The school announced on Jan. 19, 2018, that it had reached a confidential settlement with the family of Chessy Prout, the former student who was assaulted by Owen Labrie, another student, during a “senior salute” sex game at the school. The case made national headlines and led to the prep school hiring outside counsel – for a second time in its history – to analyze rampant accusations of acts of sexual assault, statutory rape, and sexual harassment at the school, including accusations against teachers.

The Prout family filed the lawsuit against the school in June 2016.

“This is a welcomed outcome as the litigation is costly and disruptive for the School,” stated Archibald Cox, the president of the school’s Board of Trustees, in a letter posted online. “While the terms of the School’s agreement with the Prout’s are confidential, there is no restriction on any party talking about the case. Indeed, we know Ms. Prout has a book coming out in March, which will likely generate additional publicity. We continue to admire Ms. Prout’s courage and commend her efforts surrounding sexual assault prevention.”

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Cox added that there was “no connection” between the settlement and Rector Mike Hirschfeld’s announcement that he was leaving leadership at the school in the summer of 2019. The announcement, he said, “is simply coincidental” and the school wanted Hirschfeld to stay on.

An investigation by the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office into claims of inappropriate sexual situations at the school continues, Cox noted, adding that while the school wants to get behind these issues as soon as possible, it is cooperating fully with the investigation.

“Despite the difficulties presented by legal issues and their portrayal in the media, the school continues to thrive and remains at the forefront of residential secondary education – and we’re always working to improve,” Cox added.

In a statement, Prout said she had many goals when she first began attending St. Paul's but never imagined she would be "traumatically transformed" into that of a survivor as a high school freshman. She added that she was grateful for the NH AG's investigation "into the long history of sexual assault and rape culture" at the school.

"The state’s investigation was the first step in allowing me to move from the unenviable role of holding an institution accountable to that of an advocate committed to helping others," Prout added. "It will be tragic if the leadership and faculty of St. Paul’s views this settlement as a legal tactic to put its shameful track-record in the past without acknowledging its present issues; my hope is that the settlement motivates everyone involved with the institution to create a culture where student well-being comes first."

Her work, she stated, would continue, adding that she was grateful for the work of all involved, including investigative reporters and advocacy organizations, that shined a light onto the activities at the school, "so that I can move on to the next chapter in my life."

Labrie, of Vermont, was arrested in July 2014, on aggravated felonious sexual assault, three counts of sexual assault, a single count of aggravated felonious sexual assault, and a felony certain uses of computer services prohibited charge. He was convicted of the misdemeanor charge – statutory rape – and the felony computer services charge. Labrie has been in and out of court attempting to fight the convictions, changing counsel, requesting new hearings and trials, in an effort to overturn the conviction, which comes with a lifetime sexual offender registration requirement.

The full letter by Cox can be view here.

Credit: Jim Cole/Associated Press