Prep School Rape

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141

DrG, Yes that’s true. Kids text things like “haha” all the time, almost like a nervous tick. It doesn’t mean they are laughing. I hope the jury gets this.

I admired the young woman for standing up to defense counsel and insisting he should read her “umms” and pauses when he quotes her statements that were given. There is a downside to this, though. By showing jurors that she can push back on aggressive defense counsel, they might infer that she should have been able to be more forceful in telling the defendant no.

142

Yes, I hope the jury (however it decides) gets the “I was upset but I didn’t want to make a big deal of it. I just wanted to put it all behind me” aspect of her comments and texts.

143

I agree. This is clearly not a black-and-white situation. I predict that the defendant will be found not guilty of rape, because of all the ambiguities. He might be found guilty of something else, like soliciting sex from a minor on the internet.

144

How long since this incident? On TV it sounded like she was sobbing quite a bit.

145

15 months ago.

146

They are predicting a two week trial so it sounds like there is plenty of evidence yet to be heard. So far, the case is playing to me as though both sides really believe they are right (girl strongly believes she was raped, boy strongly believes she consented).

If he tries to argue no penetration, however, I’m not gonna buy that. But perhaps the NH law gives him a break/lesser offense due to some “close in age” exception. I’m still unclear about the NH law.

147

The trial may be much shorter. There are huge risks if the defendant takes the stand. The prosecutor only gets to cross-examine the defendant if defense counsel calls him to the stand in the first place. Depending upon how many further witnesses the prosecution calls, don’t be surprised if the defense ends up calling no witnesses at all.

148

Wow @midwestdad3, I’ve been thinking all along that we will hear labrie testify. If he doesn’t testify, that would make me strongly support the girl’s version. I know that it’s his right to not testify, but I’ve been reading accounts (surely planted by the defense?) that he will testify. If they switch gears, that would do it for me.

His story only works if he has nothing to hide and nothing to fear in my book.

149

According to my reading of the legal definitions in NH posted earlier in the thread, If there was consensual sex involving penetration between a 15 yr old and an 18 year old it would be considered misdemeanor sexual assault and the 18 yr old would NOT have to register as a sex offender.

Also, according to something I read, this “Senior Salute” involves senior girls as well as boys. Could it be that this particular set of friends took it farther? Adolescent bravado?

Regarding senior-freshman dating, I think some of you are being a bit naive. It was not uncommon when S was in HS for Junior girls to go out with freshman boys, for example. When you are dealing with a small school, you find classmates who know each other too well to look at each other as potential dates. Were those junior girls–who according to popular theory were much more mature–taking advantage of the boys?

Regarding the “extra points” for this girl, isn’t the implication is that it had something to do with the prior relationship of Labrie and her older sister? (Which I find particularly distasteful, but “scoring” with twins, for example, is a classic trope.)

I really think that presuming guilt from a headshot of a kid having his sexual encounter laid out in public is a reach.

This is a sad story all round. Assuming for a moment that they are both telling at least part of the truth. If indeed she did intend to go through with it and changed her mind during the encounter, and he did indeed have a revelation and stop, it seems likely from what we’re reading that it was after initial penetration occurred.

I think the misdemeanor sexual assault above is a likely outcome.

150

I wonder whether he really will take the stand.

Reading comments here and elsewhere, it seems many people think there’s a reasonable doubt on the question of consent. Remember, she was 15. She can’t consent. However, my understanding is that due to NH’s version of a Romeo and Juliet law, he can only be convicted of a misdemeanor if she consented. (On that charge; the computer thing is different, I think.) @prospect1, read my earlier post in this thread.

BUT…his version is that they did NOT have sex. He told the cops she wanted it and he refused. So, remember that while those friendly statements in emails after the fact may raise doubts about her consent, to me at least, they also raise doubts as to what the defense is claiming. If he stopped short of intercourse, when she asks him if he used a condom, why does he tell her he did? Earth to jurors: If they did not have sex, why was a condom necessary?If they didn’t have sex—as he claims–why on earth didn’t he write back…"WTF are you talking about? You can’t get pregnant from petting (or whatever the current word is)? "

And, in the email he says he did for “part” of the time? What’s that about?!!! To me that screams "teenage boy used a condom but knows in rare circumstances they fail. " So, he is DELIBERATELY trying to give her the impression that she should seek emergency contraception so he doesn’t have to worry about the remote possibility she might get pregnant.

And, when he later gets angry with her in the emails, he doesn’t say “I heard you’ve been telling people I raped you.”
He says “You’ve been telling people we had sex. You have to STOP telling people that.” In other words, he’s NOT claiming consensual sex; he’s claiming NO sex.

Now, if she DID consent, it’s a misdemeanor sexual assault. And if Labrie were claiming that they had sex and she consented to it, I might buy the defense. But, unless something really different comes out on the defense side than what’s been suggested so far, I don’t think he’s going to be found credible if he continues to claim there was NO sex.

I don’t believe a 15 year old girl who had the kind of sex education St. Paul’s probably offers, is going to go see a nurse to get emergency contraception; go through having a rape kit done; and go through this trial if she did NOT have sex. That makes no sense.

If he takes the stand and claims that…there’s a good chance the jury will find her testimony more credible than his.

I have another issue…again, re the condom. If this were consensual sex…WOULDN’T SHE KNOW WHETHER OR NOT HE USED ONE!!! The fact that she did NOT know makes her story more credible. Again, if they had consensual sex, why wasn’t his response to the question along the lines of “Of course I did! Don’t you remember?”

I hope he does take the stand. I think the whole “we never had any sex at all” story is just not credible.

151

My understanding is that in NH a person who is under the age of 16 cannot legally consent to sex. So if penetration is proven that should be the end of the story – she can’t consent under the law. I am unclear as to what the defense’s strategy is - seems he wants her to admit she consented, but I do not see how that helps him. Maybe a mitigating factor for the sake of the jury?

Prosecution should hammer away at the training he received as a “prefect” and as a student at that school. No way he was not advised over and over again what the statutory rape laws were in that state. All boarding schools educate their students about this sort of thing, early and often.

152

I’m a bit surprised there wasn’t a female to do the cross. More than one commentator said this didn’t look good to see a guy berating her. Female attorney aside, there could have been a less aggressive way to get at the same facts. He treated her like one of Whitey Bulger’s criminal associates turned informer. I’m not sure how the bullying will play to the jury. They might see it as re-victimizing.

Not having read every comment on this thread I don’t know if anyone has commented on the irony of the accused plans to go to divinity school. Rape aside, the senior salute and keeping score don’t seem to square with the Kantian and Christian ideal of treating people as ends not as means to an end.

153

Consolidation, NH has a “Romeo and Juliet” law designed to decriminalize consensual sex between minors and their close-in-age girl/boyfriends. The exemption covers couples with less than a 3-year age span when the younger party is older than 13 but younger than 16. It does not apply if the older party is in a position of “in loco parentis” authority over the younger, such as would be the case with a teacher or guardian.

I haven’t heard their specific ages reported. If he was 18 1/2 and she was barely 15 this exemption wouldn’t apply.

Edit for clarity: At 15 a kid in NH can consent if his or her partner is less than 3 years older and not in loco parentis.

154

@Sue22, the statute I quoted previously in this thread says 5 years, not 3. If you are aware of a different law, please post a link.

155

@latichever The defense attorney berated her on purpose. He wanted to show the jury that she can fight back, that she can fight back against a man, and that she is smart. He got everything he wanted out of his cross-examination.

The only crucial factors in this trial are: 1) is she believable; and 2) can the hospital tie the defendant to the assault. Everything else is window dressing.

Her testimony indicates that a sexual assault by the defendant probably took place. But does it indicate that “beyond a reasonable doubt?” Jurors take this very seriously. There are 11 men on that jury. Surely some of them have been in the situation of mixed signals, ambivalence, maybe even a less than firm “no” from a partner.

From hospital staff jurors typically want DNA, or semen that ties defendant to the crime. They have neither here. Instead they have redness that can be caused by anything.

So I think it is far more than likely that once the prosecution rests, the case will go to the jury. If, on the other hand, the defendant puts on a case, it gives the prosecution the opportunity to come back with rebuttal, and firm up the weaknesses that arose in their part of the case. The defense has to weigh that against anything extra that the defendant can provide. I don’t see that there is anything he can provide that is worth the risk.

156

Okay, since many of us (including me) seem to have relied on information posted in various places, including in the press, I looked up the actual statutes. The bottom line is that it’s a class B felony at 5 or more years, a class A misdemeanor at 4 or more years.

http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/rsa/html/LXII/632-A/632-A-3.htm
http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/rsa/html/LXII/632-A/632-A-4.htm

Mea culpa for any incorrect info I’ve posted.

On another note, does it disturb anyone else that a 13 year old can be considered a legal spouse in the state of NH?

157

I admire the victim’s courage.

I don’t think the “Romeo and Juliet” exceptions apply. It’s not a license for 18 year olds to rape 15 year olds. It’s more that angry parents can’t accuse 18 year old boyfriends of 15 year olds of rape when the sex was consensual.

However, they were not boyfriend/girlfriend.

According to the victim, this was not consensual. Period. The end. No means no. Under 16, she can’t legally give consent to penetration. The contact was extreme enough to leave marks visible to the nurse days after the event.

This was rape.

One interesting part of the case may be his status as a prefect at his boarding school. He was arguably in a position of authority over his victim.

I am disturbed by the stories of a hookup chart on the wall of the laundry room. http://www.vocativ.com/news/222637/amid-rape-trial-students-downplay-elite-prep-schools-hookup-culture/

What in the world were the adults in the school doing? If everyone knew about this “game,” did no adult ever connect the dots that every “Senior Salute” was a possible rape? Painting over a wall and lecturing the students is not a sufficient response.

I think the school’s slogan of “freedom with responsibility” plays a role in the seemingly hands-off approach of the school.

Who were Labrie’s friends in the game? The other senior prefects?

In my opinion, it sounds like the only difference in this case to the other “Senior Salutes” was that the freshman had the guts to speak up for herself.

158

" I also worry about my son being expected to be a mind reader in cases where he thinks both he and the girl he’s with are having a pleasurable consensual encounter."

Hard to imagine that ANY clued in person would find what was described as a “pleasurable encounter”.

Also, a person is allowed to change their mind and say NO at any point along the way. It’s alleged in the testimony that he called her a tease when she was signaling verbally and physically that she wanted to stop. A bright person and a person who has had training on consent, both of which fit the accused, should have stopped before it even got there. Not to mention a person with kindness, decency, and prudence, but given the game he was involved in, it is apparent those descriptors don’t apply here.

159

“Could it be that this particular set of friends took it farther? Adolescent bravado?” Very much so, but I’d call it more than bravado- how about a lack of human decency?

“Regarding the “extra points” for this girl, isn’t the implication is that it had something to do with the prior relationship of Labrie and her older sister?” Yes, that seems to be the case here from comments made pretrial by the prosecution.

160

@doschicos, seems like pack behavior. I agree that it lacks human decency. The objectification of women in order to “score” is an old story, alas.

I’ve been curious about the conflicting info I’ve seen here. Regarding the so-called “laceration” mentioned by other posters, I found this in The Concord Monitor:

Where did people read about laceration?