When he was 18 years old, the convict, Owen Labrie, invited his victim to join him at New Hampshire’s St. Paul’s School for the “senior salute,” a student tradition in which underclassmen meet seniors for a 'romantic encounter' before graduation.
The sentencing judge said that, while the jury acquitted Labrie of rape charges and found that the victim had failed to successfully manifest a lack of consent, “that does not mean the victim consented to the sexual penetration.”
Labrie, whose admission to Harvard University was revoked as a result of the trial, had submitted many letters to the court attesting to his character, including one from an Episcopal priest. Evidence presented at the hearing showed that Labrie had compiled a list of girls’ names with the victim’s name in capital letters. In addition to spending a year in jail, Labrie was also sentenced to five years of probation and must register as a sex offender. He is free on bail pending appeal.