Prep School Statutory Rapist Gets Year in Jail

Judge Larry Smukler has sentenced Owen Labrie, a graduate of St. Paul’s School, to a year in prison after being found guilty of statutory rape, child endangerment, and a felony computer services prohibited charge that requires that he register as a sex offender for the rest of his life in Merrimack County Superior Court on Oct. 29, 2015.

Labrie, 19, of Tunbridge, VT, was arrested in 2014, just before graduation at the elite prep school for having sex with a 15-year-old classmate in May of that year as part of a “Senior Salute” sex ritual at the school.

Smukler stated that he didn’t believe that Labrie was neither the angel nor the devil that he was portrayed as, he said.

“I’m sentencing to you as a human being convicted of five crimes,” he added.

Smukler agreed with prosecutor claims that Labrie showed no remorse toward the victim, only to himself and his family, and stated that he was “a very good liar.” The judge also set conditions on future probation based on counseling and evaluations. Smukler said suspended sentences would be issued on most of the charges.

He was found not guilty of numerous aggravated felonious sexual assault charges in August and guilty of three misdemeanor sexual assault (statutory rape) charges, as well as endangering the welfare of a child and the computer services charge.

Smukler stated during the sentencing that if Labrie had been convicted of the aggravated felonious sexual assault charges, he would have been sentenced to the state prison … “it wouldn’t be sentenced to three and half years – it would be longer than that,” he added.

Labrie’s attorney, J.W. Carney, asked for the felony computer charge – a new provision approved by the state to tack on another charge against sex offenders – to be thrown out in September. A judge, however, rejected the request earlier this month, according to the New Hampshire Union Leader.

The defense team is requesting probation in the case, according to WMUR-TV, stating that Labrie has already been punished enough by having to register as a sex offender and also losing his enrollment into Harvard. His mother has reportedly told the court that Labrie was suicidal.

Prosecutors along with the state have released more information about the case and was requesting prison time in the New Hampshire State Prison Sex Offender program.

Prosecutors release sentencing memo

About two hours prior to the sentencing, the court released to the public the Merrimack County Attorney’s 28-page sentencing memo that unveiled some of the more salacious and stomach churning details of Labrie’s online comments about the incident and “Senior Salute.”

In text messages on Facebook, Labrie bragged about “slaying everyone,” a slang term for having sex with undergraduates at the school, and joked about throwing the girls “in the dumpster” when finishing the act.

“another dumb cum-bucket struck from my nut sucking,” Labrie texted to a fellow student during one exchange after being rejected by one potential ”Senior Salute” target. “suck it slut, slut f------ bucket list.”

“that’s poetry,” Labrie added.

The students also joked about the victim’s “prepubescent bum,” with one of the students stating that he and another student were going to have to bail Labrie out of jail.

Prosecutors said the pre-sentence investigation showed that Labrie lacked remorse about his actions and at no time during the 18 months since the sexual encounter had he taken the opportunity to reflect on the harm he had caused to the victim, her family, and others. These actions, the report stated, showed credibility issues and raised concerns about a successful rehabilitation.

“He has maintained the mantra, ‘deny till you die,’” the memo stated.

During the sentencing, prosecutor Catherine Ruffle requested the court send Labrie to prison until he successfully completed a sex offender rehabilitation program and counseling.

Ruffle called him a gifted individual, attractive, and smart, but said those same qualities were also found in dangerous sexual predators. She also was critical of his attitudes toward young women and the victim.

Ruffle noted that Labrie was already accepted to Harvard with a focus on going to the divinity school so he felt as if he could do whatever he wanted to, to the victim.

“Where is the divinity in these attitudes?,” she asked.

Ruffle also noted that more charges could be coming forward against Labrie for destroying evidence in the case to escape prosecution.

Impact statements

Impact statements were also offered from the victim, who was not in attendance.

“I can’t feel anything physically or emotionally,” she noted, while also describing being ridiculed by the entire boy’s hockey team at St. Paul’s School. “From brushing my hair to scratching my skin ... I couldn’t feel anything.”

The victim also stated that staffers, including teachers, were critical of her claims and also accused her of being a drama queen about the incident.

The victim’s parents and other support personnel were in court.

The victim’s mother spoke about their lives coming to America and having her daughters enrolled in the school just like their father. She called Labrie and his friends “monsters” and stated that their family would never be the same.

The victim’s father spoke with calm and fury saying “Labrie and his cohorts as a high-value target in a twisted competition for top slaymaker,” he said. The father stated that was outraged by Labrie’s behavior while raising money for his defense, changing lawyers, lying to police, and showing no remorse.

During the victim statements, Labrie often sighed, grimaced, and shook his head in disagreement with some of the statements, according to an online stream from the courtroom.

Defense makes its case for leinency

Carney, however, countered that when anyone looks at the verdict in the case, they have to accept that it was “a consensual encounter.” The judge, he added, would need to sentence Labrie based on what the jury found in the case. He stated that Labrie was a mentor to other students at the school. The defense team also submitted numerous letters of support for Labrie. Some of the letters were from staffers and teachers at the school.

Carney also criticized the school for looking the other way on senior boy-freshman girl sexual relations on campus. Officials don’t guide the students, he stated, they mislead them. He added that Labrie had “great embarrassment and remorse” for the language he used on Facebook and was ”humiliated” that he made such statements. Carney added that Labrie had already been punished enough by having to register as a sex offender. The punishment he had already suffered was enormous, he noted.

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; St. Paul’s School in Concord. Credit: Jim Cole, pool photographer