Kids have killed themselves over more trivial things (at least, trivial in the eyes of healthy people, don’t mean to belittle anyone’s depression). It would be quite daunting to think of one’s future as a permanent sex offender with the consequences outlined by midwestdad3. I am afraid this family has little resources to deal with the type of attention I would think he needs.
Re jonri’s statements, I concur with Jonri if there could be some way to sentence Labrie to a year in jail without the sex offender registry. That could be a good lesson and he could move on from the misdemeanor. If that can’t happen due to NH sentencing guidelines, then I too would disagree with Jonri’s post; this kid was resourceless at the times in his life he needed the most help and counsel. His dad and mom were divorced and he lived in a boarding school with no private family funds. How often was dad around to give counsel and direction? I’m guessing not much.
@MidwestDad3, I agree with your assessment of the risk of self-harm in this situation.
I do recall, though, some testimony from his friends who indicated that they told him he should not be targeting someone as young as his victim. I’m not sure where I read it.
I agree that someone needs to keep an eye on him. The shame alone he may feel for himself and his family could be significant. He may have thought he could get out of this and now is facing being branded for the rest of his life as a sex offender, which will surely impact his future with college, jobs , and relationships. I don’t know what the answer is with something like this, particularly with someone who was 18 and still in high school when this happened.
I agree 100% with @MidwestDad3. Seeing his despair during the sentencing made me feel sick at heart and I wonder if he has the inner strength to deal with what’s in his future. The really sad thing about this is that he has a very bright mind; imagine the good that could have been accomplished had he been sentenced to 500 hours of community service helping at-risk kids academically. I don’t know if the judge has the leeway to chuck the felony computer charge out and assign a different (more creative) sentence, but it seems like a terrible thing to toss Labrie into the system, to have his entire future demolished.
@MidwestDad3, still thinking about your post referencing the potential for self-harm and Labrie’s friends.
Did his St. Paul’s friends have an affirmative duty to prevent (not just dissuade) him from targeting the victim since she was a freshman? How far does that duty go? Is it asking too much for teenage boys to police their friends’ behavior if they’re not even sure if it’s idle boasting? Did they know he was serious about going after her? I don’t have the answers, I’m just working through the possibilities of what could have been done in the situation.
Regarding self-harm - Since Labrie had spent 3 years at St. Paul’s, I’m assuming his bonds with his home HS friends might have faded. I know nothing about his community so I’m not sure how much he would have in common with his neighborhood/public high school friends once we went off to SPS, especially considering that he was going to be going to Harvard. We know he’s banned from the St. Paul’s campus and it’s possible he is not allowed to contact any of his SPS classmates (I remember that from the pre-trial situation after he sent the fundraising letter out, but I’m not sure if that order is still in place since he’s been convicted), putting aside the question of whether they would welcome contact with him. He really is almost a “stateless” person unless his relatives can provide a close-knit community and from the divorce order, it sounds like there may be a lot of strife.
Interesting that he had to surrender his passport – I know that’s just standard operating procedure, but I’m sort of surprised he even has one or would be able to travel outside of the country, given his parents’ financial straits.
“Someone with a bright mind , but no conscience, can create a lot of havoc.” I agree. And that goes for anybody, male or female. I missed it. Were any psychological evaluations submitted in terms of the defendant?
I agree that 15 year olds are not prepared for intercourse and for that matter neither are 18 year olds, but I don’t know many that are still virgins, unfortunately. To say Labrie “planned” this is a stretch. Every guy in his class was picking girls to whom they wanted to send a senior salute and presumably, he was not the only one that carried one out. There were probably many “salutes” that happened and in all cases they were stauatory rape being that it was seniors to younger classmates. Everyone lied but he is not the same as a 50 year old preying on a 12 year old. An 18 year old boy is not much more mature than a 15 year old girl - in my mind he is no different than any other 18 year old boy sitting around with his friends talking about how hot the girl in his science class is so hot. It would be nice if they said “I would love to court her” or “my goodness she is a treasure” but they don’t. He was talking a big game but in reality he just wanted to be with her in whatever capacity that is. If she told her friends she would have oral with him, she isn’t a complete innocent. In any case, I just don’t think his punishment should be the same as a 50 year old pedophile sitting home on his computer luring little girls to the park - that isn’t the same at all.
Oh heavens no she was no “innocent.” And I agree, there is a world of difference between a older pedophile and two teenage high school kids. I’m the sure the judge understands that. I fully believe the computer "law’ is on the books to protect teens and pre-teens from pedofiles and not to protect them from each other.
Random thoughts…
Sometimes wealthy families will take a child’s friend along on a vacation where a passport would be needed. Maybe Owen Labrie had that opportunity.
Really smart kids often think they can find a way to ‘talk their way out of trouble’ and often do.
I worry about Labrie’s mental health, but I also worry about the victim’s. It seems she has a good support system in place. If Labrie’s mom is a high school teacher, she should be well aware of needed support for him. She must have good medical insurance that would cover him until age 26.
Our kids had fantastic opportunities without going to boarding school, but I do know people who have gone that route. A father of one of D’s best friends got into trouble in high school and was sent to boarding school ‘out east’. He said it was the best thing that happened to him. It got him out of the environment he was struggling in and changed his peer group. That seems to be more common here.
Re his passport - apparently he lives close to the Canadian border (according to the prosecutor’s remarks during the bail part after the trial). He may have a passport for access to Canada. Or many prep and boarding schools have community service trips abroad during spring breaks. Maybe he participated in one of those and needed a passport for that.
Reading some of these posts, I am so happy there were 9 men on this jury.
18 year old guys having to come up with games to have sex with 15 year old girls. These guys aren’t capable of having sex with 18 year old women. Pretty sad.
I wonder how many other 15 year old girls have been laid at this school by 18 year old guys. This school is going to lose a lot of money in civil court. Just put more men on the jury.
Do we even know how the 9 men voted? There could have been a difference of opinion on all of this, women and men alike. The primarily misdemeanor counts could have been a compromise. I haven’t followed closely enough but maybe someone else knows the details.
dstark, it must be regional. I am from NH, graduated in '77 and our high school was grades 9-12. My father graduated from the same HS in '51 and it was a 9-12 then. While I was there, I had the wonderful opportunity to read school magazine issues dating back to 1912. The school was a 9-12 school then. My ex grew up in Idaho and his HS was grades 10-12. My H is from Seattle and I’ve seen documents going back many decades that refer to 9th grade as being HS. I think yours was an anomaly.
That said, I do agree that most 9th graders are not mature. My D is 15 and the range of maturity is pretty wide. But then, that applies to seniors as well, and every grade in between.
Lots of ninth graders are fourteen years old. When I was in ninth grade, one of my sister’s friends (eleventh grade) wanted to ‘go out’ with me. We were all in high school - grades nine through twelve. I thought I was really cool – until my dad found out. He told us that high school boys think about three things - sex, food, and sex. There was no ‘going out’.
