Owen Labrie Sentenced To One Year In Jail For Sexual Assault On Underage Student

Owen Labrie, former student at the elite St. Paul’s School in New Hampshire, has today been sentenced to one year in jail and five year’s probation for the sexual assault of an underage, fellow student, reports The New York Times.

Owen Labrie Sentenced To 1 Year In Jail For ‘Senior Salute’ Attack

The sentence follows a nearly three-hour hearing, presided over by Judge Larry M. Smukler of Merrimack Criminal Court. “You’re going to do a year in the house of Corrections and probation,” Smukler said, turning to face Labrie, “That’s the bottom line.”

Labrie’s case brought to light a tradition among male students at the school known as the “senior salute” in which seniors compete with one another to hook up with as many underclassmen as possible before graduation. The judge heard how Labrie lured the underage pupil to a rooftop overlooking the school campus and then to a mechanical room where the assault occurred.

The victim appeared on a video screen before the sentence was laid down and gave an emotional plea to the judge to not allow Labrie to walk away unpunished. She said she’d experienced suicidal thoughts and severe depression following the assault and admitted she initially felt hesitant to come forward for fear of not being taken seriously. “I know why people don’t come forward and it kills me to say that,” she told the court.

Labrie’s defence sought to highlight the student’s impeccable academic record and devotion to religion but Judge Smukler remarked, “The case was not about his faith in God. This case was about his attitude toward young women.”

Labrie will be listed as a registered sex offender for the rest of his life.