St. Paul's Rape Victim Faces Alleged Attacker

Opening remarks and testimony were heard in Merrimack County Superior Court in Concord this week against Owen Labrie, now 19, of Tunbridge, VT, a 2014 graduate of the prestigious St. Paul’s School prep school in Concord, who is accused of sexually assaulting a fellow student last year.

Labrie, according to prosecutors, allegedly raped a 15-year-old girl on May 30, 2014, as part of a hazing ritual/sex game competition at the school called “Senior Salute.”

Police allege that Labrie used the school’s computer online service to lure the girl, now 16, to meet him in a building on the campus as part of the game that involved upperclassmen on campus attempting to have sexual relations with – or “slay” – female students before graduation, according to investigators. Senior Salute, according to the prosecution, had been going on at the exclusive school for years and this is the first time that a victim had come forward to accuse a fellow student of sexual assault.

The victim testified in court on Tuesday that while she knew Labrie, she never had “real conversations” with him and only exchanged “hellos,” according to the New Hampshire Union Leader. The paper also reported that Labrie planned on taking the stand in his own defense and that his attorney, Jay Carney, would be challenging the investigation, painting the victim as a willing participant in the game.

Labrie was slated to start college at Harvard University in the fall of 2014, with plans to attend its divinity school, but had his enrollment revoked, according to press reports.

The case has garnered national attention due to the nature of the revelation of the sex game at the prestigious prep school that has also had its share of notorious arrests and criminal cases in recent years.

Caption: Owen Labrie in Merrimack County Superior Court on Aug. 18, 2015. Credit: Jim Cole, pool photographer

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