|
 Owen Labrie, 19, was found not guilty of three felony counts of
sexually assaulting a fellow student at St. Paul's School in
Concord. The jury found him guilty of lesser misdemeanor counts of
having sex with a person under the age of consent, as well as a
felony count of using online communications to seduce a minor.
Labrie closed his eyes and began to sob as the first verdict,
finding him guilty of computer-related seduction, was read but
regained his composure as the jury forewoman read out the three not
guilty verdicts. His lawyer, J.W. Carney, patted his back to soothe
him.
He could face a sentence of up to 11 years in prison for the charges
he was found guilty of. The felony sex assault counts had carried a
potential sentence of as much as 20 years in prison.
 "Owen's future is forever changed," said Carney, a prominent Boston
defense attorney whose clients have included mob boss James "Whitey"
Bulger. "A conviction like this is like a brand." He added that he believed prosecutors had "overreached" in charging
Labrie under the computer-related seduction law, which he said was
passed with online sexual predators in mind, and has specific
language enhancing penalties for victims under the age of 13.
Central to the trial was the "senior salute," a longstanding
tradition among St. Paul's students that involved graduating
students inviting underclassmen to get together, often for sexual
purposes.
The accuser, who spent more than two days on the stand, acknowledged
agreeing to Labrie's invitation, but said she expected to kiss him
and not go much further. She said Labrie aggressively kept pushing
her until she was "frozen" in fear and unable to resist.
"Today, a measure of justice has been served for victims of sexual
violence," the girl's family said in a statement. "Owen Labrie was
held accountable in some way by a jury of his peers for the crimes
he committed against our daughter."
Carney had argued that Labrie and the teen, whose sister was a
senior at the school, had a mutually flirtatious relationship and
went on to have a consensual encounter that stopped short of
intercourse. A close friend of the accuser testified that the teen told her that
she was willing to engage in certain sex acts short of intercourse.
The accuser denied having said it.
The accuser, Carney said, "had to make a decision whether it would
be her reputation that would go into the toilet, or Owen's and she
took the easier choice."
[to top of second column] |
'TOXIC CULTURE'
The victim's family also blamed the nearly 160-year-old school for
failing to prevent the incident.
"We still feel betrayed that St. Paul's School allowed and fostered
a toxic culture that left our daughter and other students at risk to
sexual violence," they said.
St. Paul's, whose alumni include powerful U.S. business and
political leaders such as Secretary of State John Kerry, said on
Friday that school leaders had only learned of the "senior salute"
practice in 2013, and that it did not accurately reflect its
culture.
"The behavior was never condoned by the school and we took action
when it surfaced," said the school's rector, Michael Hirschfeld, and
the president of its board of trustees, James Waterbury, in an open
letter to students, parents and alumni.
Defense attorneys had sought to portray Labrie, of Tunbridge,
Vermont, as a hardworking and ambitious student, who unlike many of
the students at the prestigious boarding school did not come from a
privileged background and was able to attend only because he had
earned a scholarship to do so.
Labrie, who will have to register as a sex offender, was released on
$15,000 bail until an October sentencing hearing.
County prosecutor Catherine Ruffle said she regarded the outcome as
a victory.
"We hope this sends a message to future victims to come forward,"
she said.
(Reporting by Ted Siefer; Editing by Scott Malone and Richard Chang)
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
