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 The suspect, Owen Labrie, 19, of Tunbridge, Vermont, is charged
with sexually assaulting a 15-year-old freshman girl days before he
graduated in 2014 from St. Paul's School.
The prep school counts among its graduates numerous prominent
business and political leaders, including U.S. Secretary of State
John Kerry.
The trial is expected to shine a spotlight on the culture of the
elite academy, founded in 1856. It is clustered on 2,000 wooded
acres (810 hectares) in Concord, New Hampshire's state capital.
Quoting from a police affidavit, the Concord Monitor newspaper
reported that Labrie told officers shortly after his arrest that his
alleged encounter with the girl was part of a school tradition known
as "senior salute," in which senior boys competed to "score" with
the most female students.
 A jury of 11 men and three women, with two alternates, was selected
on Monday for the trial at the Merrimack Superior Court in Concord.
In a statement on its website, St. Paul's said: "Allegations about
our culture are not emblematic of our school or our values, our
rules, or the people that represent our student body, alumni,
faculty, and staff."
The jury is expected on Tuesday to visit the campus of St. Paul's
and the site of the alleged assault.
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Labrie has pleaded not guilty to three felony sexual assault
charges. Lesser charges include using an "Internet service" -
specifically Facebook - to lure the alleged victim.
The three sexual assault charges each carries a sentence of up to 20
years in prison.
Labrie had been slated to begin classes at Harvard University last
fall, but did not attend, the Concord Monitor said.
(Reporting by Ian Simpson; Editing by Sandra Maler)
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