The rape trial begins today for Owen Labrie, the former student of St. Paul’s School, which was once attended by Senator John Kerry. The elite New Hampshire prep school has a reputation for “sexual scoring,” and a competition to take the virginity of the greatest number of underclassman, called the “Senior Salute.”
According to the Washington Post, Owen Labrie, who still expects to matriculate at Harvard, explained to the Concord, New Hampshire, police that the “Senior Salute” was a competition among senior men to have sex with as many underclassmen as possible. They kept “score” in permanent marker on a wall behind the washing machines, then, after the school kept painting over it, they created an online score card. Labrie expressed that he was “trying to be number one.”
VT: St. Paul's grad, Owen Labrie 18, & #Harvard bound in fall, charged with #sexualassault of girl-15… http://t.co/ZxrLqPbk5W #rapeculture
— Candace MSTeeD (@CSTeedTX) August 9, 2014
But today, jury selection begins for Labrie’s rape trial, where he is charged with several felonies, including sexual assault and using a computer to lure a minor to a location for sex. According to the Washington Post, Labrie brags about the sexual competition, but denies even having sex with the alleged 15-year-old victim, who says she was raped on the roof of a school building last spring.
The New York Daily News is reporting that the crime was reported to the police by a St. Paul’s School counselor after speaking with the alleged victim’s mother. The counselor told the police about the school’s “Senior Salute” tradition. According to the Concord Monitor, the same affidavit mentions that the school has been trying to educate students against sexual scoring.
Boarding … – http://t.co/uYkF7Q0TWG – #BoardingSchools #OwenLabrie #RapeTrial #StPaulsSchool pic.twitter.com/39XSMJa7rx
— Sonething News (@sonething_news) August 17, 2015
Founded in 1856, St. Paul’s School is a co-ed boarding school located near Concord, New Hampshire, approximately an hour outside of Boston. The grades 9-12 school has 531 students and 108 faculty members. Tuition is $52,200 for the upcoming school year, and approximately one third of the students receive some form of financial aid.
Laurie admits he was trying to win the “Senior Salute,” yet two days after the alleged rape, he was honored at graduation, according to ABC News, with the Rector’s Award for “selfless devotion to school activities.” Labrie was accepted at Harvard, but the school is now reporting that he is no longer enrolled.
Exposing #StPaulsSchool rape scandal and misogynistic elitism in general via @cbsboston: http://t.co/kwDL6LoqPP @spsadmissions @spsalums
— Christopher Monaco (@CCMonokes) August 16, 2015
Jury selection is now under way in the courthouse in Concord, New Hampshire.
Do you think St. Paul’s School is at least partially responsible for Owen Labrie’s alleged rape of a fellow student?
[Photo courtesy of Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images]