New Hampshire man Owen Labrie, 23, started serving the rest of his year-long jail sentence on Wednesday after trying and failing to shorten it. Jurors convicted him of sexually assaulting 15-year-old girl while he was an 18-year-old at St. Paul’s School in Concord. Prosecutors said Labrie did it as part of a ritual among seniors to rack up as many romantic or outright sexual encounters as possible with freshmen.
Booking photo for Owen Labrie from Merrimack Co. Jail. Former prep school student will serve 9 months behind bars after “senior salute” sexual assault conviction. pic.twitter.com/bDoSl8rxf7
— Kim Lucey (@KimLucey) December 26, 2018
Labrie received a year-long sentence after being convicted of misdemeanor statutory rape, misdemeanor endangering the welfare of a child, and felony solicitation of sex from a minor over a computer. In his 2015 trial, the girl testified that he raped her in a school mechanical room on May 30, 2014. During cross-examination, the defense tried to suggest that her actions amid the incident indicated consent.
“Isn’t it true that you held your arms up so that it would be easier for Owen to take your shirt off?” attorney J.W. Carney Jr. asked her, according to the New York Times. She said she “didn’t want to be offensive,” and testified that she had said “no” twice during the incident.
Labrie must register as a sex offender as part of the felony conviction. He was released on bail after the guilty verdict, pending his appeal, but had to serve two months after he allegedly violated his court-imposed curfew. Labrie’s legal team showed up at Merrimack County Superior Court in New Hampshire last week in a bid to shorten his sentence. They argued he was punished enough.
“Given the crimes and the circumstances, it is just not appropriate to amend the sentence,” Judge Larry Smukler said, according to The Associated Press.
Statement from victim’s parents: “Today, the perpetrator who sexually assaulted our then 15 year old daughter will finally be held accountable for his crime and sent to jail to serve his sentence. To date, he has shown no remorse nor accepted any responsibility for his actions.”
— Kim Lucey (@KimLucey) December 26, 2018
[Mugshot via Merrimack County Jail]
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