That’s the thing…both the accuser AND the accused, each conflict with their OWN SELVES in various statements, not to mention with one another!
This is why it’s almost impossible to figure out who is lying and who is telling the truth from just reading about the testimony. NO way to assess the veracity of the witnesses. Being there in person would make a huge difference in determining the demeanor of the witnesses making these statements. Body language, inflection, emotion, looking at the eyes and facial expressions…etc.
Disappointing to see the Concord Monitor reporter tweet that the SPS Dean of Students testified he knew of the ritual in question and was aware of a “secret” dormitory basement wall map detailing relationships between students.
If accurate, I imagine he is updating his CV right now.
The accuser initially said whatever happened was consensual. I don’t at all blame her, nor does it make her a liar IMO, but it does give the defense some fodder to establish reasonable doubt.
If I were on the jury (but of course I’m not, so I don’t really know what they know), there’s no way I’d vote guilty. IMO, there are numerous reasonable doubts.
@MidwestDad3, earlier it was reported that the wall in question had been repeatedly painted over. Knowing of its existence and actively trying to discourage it does not sound like a firing offense to me.
@consolation, painting over it doesn’t necessarily equate with actively tying to discourage it. It could be interpreted as ignoring it or even covering it up. I haven’t really read about any attempt to actively discourage this behavior; if anything, the evidence indicated the level of the behavior actually ramped up that year.
Well, that is true. I guess I assumed t hat the painting over was accompanied by some kind of discouraging announcement/conversation. Certainly it is against school policy, as noted above.
I would also think it likely that when the school admins thought about the “senior salute” they were not thinking that this was going to involve 18 yr olds raping 15 yr olds, whatever the gender configuration. I would think that they expected it to be more along the lines of a little making out in most cases. But who knows.
I agree; I suspect (hope) that the rape allegations came as a surprise to the school. Of course, you never know what things were covered up in the past, privately between parties. Many sexual assault victims are more than happy to settle privately. This is one of the reasons that I admire this girl. Whether she was actually raped or not, I believe that SHE thinks she was and is taking on a world of hurt to stand up for herself.
I wonder what to make of this testimony combined with the Facebook message he sent her about how when someone took her virginity, he hoped it was great, and her response that she agreed
@applebeemine, I did not see anything about such testimony. Are you saying there was a Facebook message implying that he was not the one who took her virginity; that it had not yet been taken, and she agreed? Was this a Facebook message dated after the alleged rape?
@prospect1, this article contains the same reference:
http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/aug/19/st-pauls-prep-rape-trial-lawyer
"Her first instinct not to “cause a confrontation” by reporting she was raped turned into a desire for justice, she said, when Labrie later sent her messages denying he performed sex acts on her.
“When a boy actually takes your virginity, I hope it’s golden,” he wrote to her.
The message shocked her into accepting she had been raped, she testified.
“The fact he was backtracking and trying to protect himself made me realize, oh my God, I had every right to be upset,” she said."
^^Agree. The few clips I’ve heard of the accuser (when her voice is not being disguised) are pretty heart-wrenching in their emotion:
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/ex-students-at-st-pauls-rape-trial-describe-senior-salute-sex-ritual/
(around :43 when she identifies the defendant - presumably this would be at the start of her testimony and gives an indication of how hard testifying must be.)
I will certainly listen to any clips of the defendant if he testifies and they are included in any media coverage. I haven’t looked for clips of any of today’s witnesses.
His lawyer said, “it’s a source of pride for girls to be asked to participate in a senior salute”. Oh ugh.
And unfortunately he is probably correct. 
Did he actually say that???
greenwitch - That made me sick! I am not sure I could be on this jury. I would want to stand up in the jury box and yell at his lawyer.
As a young teen in the same circumstance, I believe I would have done the same thing the victim did when she went to the school nurse. She did not want to ‘ruin’ her sister’s graduation day. When you are 15, you don’t always make the same decisions you might make at 18, 28, or 48.
I asked my S (now a college grad so older and wiser than the boys at St. Paul’s) what he might have done had he been a classmate. He would have gone to a trusted teacher. “Mom, I could never keep that a secret.”
“The alleged victim, now 16, sat in a front row next to her father, who is a corporate executive at a major global investment firm. Her father often had his arm wrapped around her and she appeared to weep at times.”
^^^I’m glad she has her dad’s support - possibly the only instance of grace and love in the whole trial.
"As rumors about Labrie and the young girl spread, her friends confronted Labrie. He wrote a message to Marchese predicting the “thing will blow over”.
“Deny until I die tonight,” Labrie wrote, in a message shown to the jury."
While awaiting trial, Labrie has spent the last year building a chapel in Vermont, his attorney said outside the courthouse.
^^^Is this supposed to make him look less guilty? It strikes me as being very calculating.
http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/aug/24/prep-school-trial-defendant-admitted-sex-friends
^^But @hrh19, if someone is willing to accept that possibility, is that person also willing to accept the possibility that defendant bragged about actually having sex with her because he wanted to score points with his friends, even if he perhaps did not accomplish his goal after all? It seems to me to be two sides of the same coin: a group of teenagers who will pretty much say whatever is convenient.
IMO there is a risk that the jury will get a sick of all the kids at this school, and just reach not guilty verdicts and be done with it. It was widely reported today that one of the victim’s relatives “bumped” the defendant in the aisle, causing considerable tension in the courtroom. This is intimidation, and if the jury sees something like this, it will work against the defendant. Same with the defendant’s crying. There may come a point when the jury may wonder if perhaps the accuser is subtly trying to manipulate them. The longer the trial goes on, the more opportunities there are for distractions, and the jury just may say let them fight it out in civil court. Of course the problem there is that the complainant’s family are the ones with the deep pockets, not the defendant.
Building a chapel? Why does it sounds so familiar…