I suppose this is what I find harsh and a bit scary—how many kids and young adults these days arrange every aspect of their lives via computer or phone, texting and emailing and whatever—just because he sets up their “date/hookup/meeting” by email instead of face to face in a classroom or a coffeeshop he is on the list for LIFE?
This verdict looks to me like IF she had been 16 instead of 15, and IF he’d asked her out in person, he’d have been found not guilty on all charges.
I realize those aren’t the facts but I agree with others that I don’t think this is how that computer law was intended to be used.
@prezbucky The felony can be appealed. It will be appealed. But most criminal appeals fail.
Yes, the statute was not set up specifically to ensnare students at a school who are emailing each other. But if a prosecutor feels they can meet all of the elements of an offense, they can use their discretion to seek an indictment. I imagine a lot of parents of boys will be having a talk with their sons tonight about computer use–though a girl, too, could be charged if the ages were switched.
A pre-sentence investigation will be done before sentencing. This is a report to the court on his background, education, priors, work history, psychological condition, etc. I don’t know how much leeway a judge in NH has in determining how long he should be incarcerated.
The lifetime sex offender registry is significant. It means he will have difficulty ever owning a house, or even renting an apartment. It will be a major obstacle to employment. He probably will never be able to travel internationally. He will not be able to volunteer. He will have difficulty marrying because few people are willing to accept these barriers. He will never serve on a jury. He will never serve in the military. He will never become a minister. Not only will he probably not be able to go to college, an online degree is probably out of the question because he very likely will be banned from using a computer, at least while he is on probation. His life will be significantly different from what he expected it might be when he was accepted at Harvard.
@dstark And you don’t think she did? We didn’t see pictures of her, but I have no doubt that she took the stand wearing clothing that was more formal and more conservative than what she wore on a daily basis, or what she might have worn on the athletic field (which seems to be where the “before” shot of him was taken). I hardly see this as a “makoever.”
@MidwestDad3, if what you describe regarding the lifetime sex offender registry is accurate, it is the essence of cruel and unusual punishment for his crime.
@midwestdad3 - this boy does not deserve a lifetime of sex offender registry if it means all the consequences you have outlined. Wow. Is there any leniency allowed by the judge on the sex offender registry or is that a mandatory penalty? Sorry, but this punishment far exceeds the crime in my opinion.
So I’m reading that the jury says they think there was intercourse, but it was consensual. The defendant said there was no intercourse. So they think he lied. But that wasn’t enough to believe her story? The testimony of a woman is evidence. Or rather should be. I am so tired of victim blaming. If a woman says “no” at any point it becomes rape. Is that so terribly hard to understand? Well obviously it is.
No. He wears glasses and contacts, apparently. As far as I can tell from looking at the before picture, his hair looks light probably because he had been out in the sun a lot. His face was dirty and tanned, and he had a cut over an eyebrow. He looked like he had just stepped off the field after a game or practice. MY hair–which is dark brown-- is lighter and redder than it normally is right now because I spent a lot of time in the sun this summer. And I am tan. (For me) Most of the time my complexion is more like his: very fair and flushed in places.
Maybe people who live in hot climates don’t undergo these seasonal changes.
I know nothing whatsoever about the charges here, or the law in this area, but it makes no sense that solicitation of a misdemeanor could be a felony and give rise to more severe penalties than the commission of the misdemeanor itself. Usually, when something in the law makes no sense, there’s a legal argument why it shouldn’t stand. I have no basis for saying this, but my uninformed guess is that he will NOT ultimately be required to register as a sex offender for life.
I wonder if the jury knew what the sentence guidelines would be for the computer charge. I wonder if, had they known the severe consequences of a guilty finding on that charge, they might have found not guilty on that charge. That’s an extreme punishment for something teenagers do every day without felonious intent.
@Consolation, he changed the color of his eyebrows.
You are making excuses.
I don’t think he should be a registered sex offender for life. However, at sentencing, I believe both sides will have people talk about what a great person he is or what an @ he is.
This is where you may get somrbody say… “Hey. he did this to me”. Or…“The guy has never done anything bad before. give him a break.”.
The lifetime sex offender registry is significant. It means he will have difficulty ever owning a house, or even renting an apartment. It will be a major obstacle to employment. He probably will never be able to travel internationally. He will not be able to volunteer. He will have difficulty marrying because few people are willing to accept these barriers. He will never serve on a jury. He will never serve in the military. He will never become a minister. Not only will he probably not be able to go to college, an online degree is probably out of the question because he very likely will be banned from using a computer, at least while he is on probation. His life will be significantly different from what he expected it might be when he was accepted at Harvard.
In other words, serving a couple of years (before parole becomes possible, maybe…) in prison is not his biggest hurdle: he now will be stamped as a predator, the same as if he had raped a 6-year-old or set up an escort ring of minors online.
Being an ex-con would be bad enough of a shadow; the addition of “sex offender” seems to be too harsh in this case.
But @dstark, some offenses don’t allow for flexibility in sentencing. In finding Labrie guilty on the computer charge, I’m wondering if the sex offender registration for life is mandatory. Does anybody know?
Also @dstark, the way Labrie looked at trial had nothing to do with Labrie and everything to do with his lawyers. Do you really believe that this 19 year old kid chose that look/hair/eyebrows/clothing? His lawyers did that. Why should that bohther you?
@dstark, I don’t know if he “changed the color of his eyebrows” or his hair or not. He seemed to have significant eyebrows. The color was different the same way his hair was different. What is your evidence that his eyebrows weren’t sun-bleached just the way his hair was sun-bleached? (If it was.)
I am not making excuses. I am simply puzzled by your assumptions. I have only seen one pre-court picture of him, and he doesn’t look “made over” to me. Maybe there are others that tell a different story.
You live in California. Your hair and skin is probably the same color all year round. Ours isn’t.
Are you also going to tell me that he was wearing makeup to make his skin look different?
