@jonri Maybe the 12 jurors won’t find any inconsistencies in her testimony. Or maybe they will understand why she was inconsistent. We’ll find out when the verdicts are read. But I haven’t “criticized” her for lying. I’ve only pointed out what the defense attorney is sure to focus on in the closing argument.
@prospect1, I agree.
If acquitted, the defendant will be in somewhat the same position as William Kennedy Smith (though much less wealthy). Smith has managed to have an outstanding medical career, though he has had further legal difficulties. As you say, outcomes can vary from person to person.
@prospect1 , you wrote “There was some statement she gave to police to the effect that the boys in the senior class liked to say “hi” to the victim/girl so that they could get under her sister’s skin.”
Could you link to an article that says this? Quite curious.
Also heard that a news station revealed her name. Was it spoken? Despicable, I thought news stations were more sensitive to victims of sexual assault, especially minors.
I am torn by the release of name issue. We release the name of the accused and if found not guilty the release of their name can never be undone.
@madelineelster- gosh, I don’t remember where I saw the quote about the sister. I’m thinking it was in one of the statements she gave before the trial though. Maybe someone else here might remember.
@tom1944, lots of times the names of minors involved in criminal proceedings are not released, whether they are the accuser OR the accused. If the accused here was a minor, his name would likely be withheld too.
Yes, lots of people have constructive lives without higher education. But for young people who want higher education and are academically ready for it, their lives are going to be a lot more productive if they can get it.
“Maybe I’m old fashioned, but I’d like to think that college is a place reserved for men and women possessing good character.”
That’s fair enough, but different colleges have different missions. If we’re talking about a local public university, the mission is usually to serve the needs of the population and economy of the region by increasing opportunities for career advancement. I’m all about the ivory tower where kids learn to learn in an idealized community of fellow thinkers, but that’s not the only college model out there. Ultimately, I’d like to see colleges get a complete picture of each applicant so they can decide whether any individual merits a place in the class or not. Many will say no across the board to kids with criminal records, but there are exceptions.
yes I understand that. But the release of the name of a person accused of sexual assault will not undo the damage to their reputation even if found not guilty.
^^^Isn’t that the case for ANYONE accused of a crime who is found not guilty? Every adult charged with a crime is named. It’s not only those accused of sexual assaults.
Fair or unfair, I think there is more of a stigma associated with being accused of any kind of sex crime.
@tom1944 While I understand what you are saying, he assumed a substantial risk when, as an adult, he solicited sex from a minor 2 days before graduation for the sole purpose of scoring points in a horrible, misogynistic “game.”
I really can’t muster up any pity for Labrie even if he did not actually commit a felony rape (meaning, even if it was consensual and not a felony due to the close-in-age rules in that state). Regardless of the outcome of the criminal trial, it seems that he ADMITS that he sought to have some sort of sexual interaction with a 15 year old girl who was not his girlfriend. In my opinion, it’s OK to name and shame somebody who does this.
Edit: not to derail the thread, but just curious, I believe the word is “consensual” and not “consentual” but I have seen it both ways. Is one word more correct than the other in a legal context?
Any concern for the reputation of the accused has to take a back seat to the reality that there is still a lot of shame attached to being a victim of a sex crime. Allowing the disclosure of the victim’s name could have a chilling effect on women’s willingness to report rapes and other sexual assaults. Aren’t “honor killings” of rape victims still occurring in some countries?
Also, presumably anyone who Googles a person accused of a sex crime will also pull up results that show the accused was acquitted, if he were to be found not guilty.
I clicked the link in post #39 that led to an order of the VT Supreme Court. It sheds some light on the defendant’s upbringing, which may be one factor in his behavior. It sounds as if his upbringing was rough and it doesn’t surprise me that he is a very troubled young man. A wolf in sheep’s clothing is still a wolf.
The fact that Laurie was a prefect at St. Paul’s makes him less, not more, sympathetic to my mind. Prefects are usually selected by the faculty and are supposed to models for their fellow students as well as links between the students and faculty/administration. Prefects receive extra training to help them recognize and deal with problematic situations. He would have a hard time arguing ignorance as a defense.
It would probably have been futile to protect the identity of the complainant given the fact that she was a freshman girl with a graduating sister at a relatively small school. There just aren’t very many kids who fit that profile and the school community could easily identify her. No matter what the outcome the reputations of both parties will be damaged in the end.
That said, I admire the courage of a girl willing to take on her peers (who in most cases will circle the wagons around their school) in order to stand up for herself and what she believes to be right.
@Sue22 Yes I totally agree. It’s not a teacher-student relationship, but he did hold a position of school responsibility.
Labrie took higher level classes than many of his peers at a BS known for rigor. I wonder if he is PG? That cohort can have social issues, but still not an excuse for his lack of judgement and possibly more.
Link to 7 page indictment of the defendant - scroll to the bottom to see it. http://www.necn.com/news/new-england/Jury-Selection-Beginning-in-Prep-School-Rape-Case-322026321.html
The misdemeanor child endangerment charge of “purposely violating a duty of care, protection or support he owed to her as a student leader Prefect” should be pretty clearly established, from what I’ve read about the case. I’m hoping the defense will put him on the stand so the prosecutor can hammer him on that point.
Edit: I was curious about what convictions require registration with the state sex offender list and noticed that the child endangerment charge (RSA 639:3) is included in Tier II of the NH regulations, if the trial judge so orders. Link -
http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/rsa/html/lxii/651-b/651-b-mrg.htm
The fact that he was a prefect would make that highly unlikely. Prefects are usually chosen at the end of junior year.
p.s., aplogies for the typos- Laurie for Labrie and roofs for roofies (post #181). My computer seems to think it’s a better speller than I am.
Pretty damning isn’t it when a younger guy in Labrie’s dorm and Labrie’s roommate of 3 years both testify that he told them he had sex with the girl?! How does the defense spin that? That he was just boasting and didn’t really? I’d have a hard time believing that if I was on the jury.
“Pretty damning . . . I’d have a hard time believing that if I was on the jury.”
The problem is there are 11 men on the jury, probably several of whom made a similar boast to friends when they were younger. This was a contest. The jurors would have found it odd if they HADN’T heard testimony like this.
But the defendant’s roommate apparently surprised the prosecutor by saying that there was no contest. This happened on direct examination??? The witness you are depending on to say that the two had sex is directly contradicting your theory of the case? What is that about?
And another state’s witness apparently testified that he lied when he told police that defendant told him the two had sex. (Or maybe that that two didn’t have sex. Not sure that the tweet, or my reading of it, is correct. In any event, the state’s own witness is an admitted liar and it’s often a bad sign for the prosecution when the defense has no questions for the witness on cross-examination.) This gets the jury thinking about whether some of these other boys are vulnerable to potential charges by the prosecutor, and whether that might be influencing their testimony.
I can’t imagine that the prosecutor is very happy about this morning’s testimony. But I’ll be the first to admit I’m wrong if the outcome proves otherwise. I still do not see defendant testifying at this point. In fact, I’m not sure the defense will call any witnesses. The jury is hearing a bunch of teenagers saying conflicting things. By the end they might not know who to believe.
@doschicos Yep, that’s what the defense attorney implied by his questioning.
https://twitter.com/JBlackmanCM Tweets from the Concord Monitor. 2013 grad testified that he and Labrie were co-founders of a facebook page, “Slayers Anonymous.”
I was stunned by something I found googling last night. During visitation hours, opposite sex members may be in a room with a door closed. St. Paul’s discourages but does not prohibit sex between students. If you get caught having sex, you may be counseled, but won’t be expelled. http://spspelican.com/feature-sps-vs-peer-schools/
@sue22 I meant profoundly gifted, not post graduate. I don’t think St. Paul’s offers a post graduate year, but I may be wrong.