Owen Labrie Sentenced to One Year in Jail for Sexual Assault
(Photo: AP/Jim Cole)
Former St. Paul’s School student Owen Labrie was sentenced to one year in jail following a highly publicized trial for raping a then-15-year-old student.
The unnamed victim said Labrie had asked her to meet up with him as part of a long-standing tradition at the prep school called the “Senior Salute,” — where graduating seniors earn “points” by having as many sexual encounters as possible with underclassmen before graduation — and later pushed her to have sex with him; Labrie said the sex was consensual.
Labrie had been acquitted of rape, but found quilty of felony computer assault, as well as three misdemeanor charges of sexual assault and one misdemeanor charge of child endangerment. Labrie, now 20, was an 18-year-old senior at the time of the assault.
The judge was clear in his sentencing, telling Labrie that being acquitted of rape charges did not mean that the sex was consensual, and that “in some ways, you’re a very good liar,” according to tweets. Labrie’s lawyer pointed out that Labrie would have to register as a sex offender and the trauma he’s dealt with throughout the case has been punishment enough, but Judge Smukler didn’t budge.
The judge didn’t mince words when explaining that the jury’s acquittal of Labrie on rape charges did not mean the sex was consensual: “This was not consensual,” he told Labrie
The sentencing wraps up an extremely emotional case for all involved.
The victim’s mother said her daughter has faced rape threats since the trial, including messages saying, “college bros on college campuses would take care of that,” ABC reports. “The defendant has stolen so much from my daughter and from my family and what he stole we will never get back,” the victim’s father added. The victim, who was not in court today, provided a video statement during the sentencing:
“To this day, I still feel numb,” says the girl, in a halting statement shown to the court on video.
“I’m not only pushing for justice for myself, but for others as well,” said the girl… “I’m so, so scared that he will do this again.”
“What he did to me made me feel like I didn’t belong on this planet and that I would be better off dead,” says the girl.
“It’s terrible to say, but I know why people don’t come forward. And it kills me to say that,” the girl said, describing stigma of rape.
Read More: The Controversial St. Paul Verdict: Why Selecting a Rape Case Jury Is Particularly Difficult
