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 Owen Labrie, 20, was convicted in August at the end of a
high-profile trial that cast a harsh light on the culture of the
elite St. Paul's School and its tradition of a "senior salute," in
which final-year students invited underclassmen for sexual
encounters.
Labrie could be seen crossing himself in a gesture of prayer as he
waited for Merrimack County Superior Court Judge Larry Smukler to
issue his sentence, which was considerably less than the seven years
prosecutors had sought. He was also ordered to register as a sex
offender for the rest of his life.
"This was not consensual," Smukler said. "You did not take the time
to get to know the victim."
The girl, who Reuters is not identifying, did not appear in court
but gave a half-hour statement by video, saying she continued to
struggle with the traumatic memory of the assault.
 "I don't really know how to put one foot in front of another. I
don't want to feel imprisoned the rest of my life," she said,
speaking haltingly and at times through tears. "I want to be safe
again, and I want justice."
Labrie was found not guilty of three counts of felony rape against
the girl, who was a 15-year-old freshman at the time of their
encounter last year on the campus of their boarding school in
Concord, New Hampshire.
Prosecutors had argued that the victim accepted Labrie's invitation
for a "senior salute" in the final weeks of school but never
intended to have sex with him.
Labrie's attorney, J.W. Carney, had argued that probation would be a
more appropriate punishment than prison, noting that Labrie had
already lost a full scholarship to Harvard University and that his
name would forever be associated with the case.
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"Owen decided to engage in a 'senior salute.' He has tremendous
remorse for doing what he did," Carney said. "Owen looked to St.
Paul’s to guide him and instead they misled him."
Carney said he would be appealing the decision, and the judge said
Labrie would be allowed to remain free pending that appeal.
The victim's father, an alumnus of St. Paul's, bashed what he called
the school's "entitled" culture.
"My little girl stood up to this entitled young man, she stood up to
the entitled culture at St. Paul’s, she stood up to the rape culture
that exists in our society that allows boys to be boys and somehow
says it is OK for men to do irreparable harm to girls," he said, as
Labrie sat staring straight ahead.
St. Paul's is one of the nation's top prep schools, and its alumni
include well-known figures in business and politics, including U.S.
Secretary of State John Kerry.
(Reporting by Ted Siefer; Editing by Scott Malone and Eric Beech)
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