St. Paul’s defendant Owen Labrie files motion to appeal felony sex offender charge
Last month, St. Paul’s graduate Owen Labrie was found not guilty of the three most serious felony charges against him. But he was found guilty of one felony conviction, which would require Labrie to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life, and carries a sentence of up to seven years in state prison.
On Thursday, Labrie’s attorney J.W. Carney filed a motion to appeal the charge of “certain uses of computer services prohibited,’’ calling it “cruel and unusual.’’
“The dramatic increase in punishment — particularly mandatory lifetime sex offender registration — is so wildly disproportionate to the crimes of which the defendant stands convicted as to violate the Eight Amendment’s prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment,’’ Carney wrote in the filing.
In the motion, Carney argued that the computer charge conviction was inconsistent. He said the three guilty misdemeanor charges Labrie was found guilty of indicate that he and the then 15-year-old had consensual sex, which wouldn’t warrant a sex offender registration. Further, Carney said that the conviction wouldn’t exist if Labrie had contacted her on the phone or spoken to her in person, but only exists because he contacted her through email and Facebook.
“The consequences of the felony conviction for the defendant are enormous,’’ Carney wrote. “The conviction increases his potential sentence exposure by seven years and gives rise to the possibility of a state prison term. Even more devastating is that his conviction for the computer felony mandates lifetime sexual offender registration.’’
During the trial, Labrie admitted that he arranged to meet the girl in a “secret spot’’ on campus by contacting her via email. The invitation, which was part of the school’s Senior Salute tradition, was considered a solicitation.
“There’s a door here that’s been locked since before you were born,’’ Labrie’s initial message to her read. “But in a moment of divine intervention the night before last, its hinges swung open in my hand … I want to invite you to climb these hidden steps and bask in the nicest view.’’
In an editorial for the Wall Street Journal, Katherine Tarbox, a St. Paul’s graduate who was sexually assaulted by an online predator, argued that the conviction seemed like “a gross misapplication of a law that was intended for a much different set of circumstances.’’
Citing Tarbox’s piece, the staff of the Concord Monitor agreed in their own editorial, and argued that charging someone with a misdemeanor for rape and a felony for computer solicitation sets a dangerous precedent.
“Any date arranged electronically that leads to sex when one party is under age 16 could conceivably result in a felony charge and sex offender status,’’ the staff wrote. “That’s not what legislatures intended or society needs.’’
After the conviction, the victim’s family released a statement that said, “While he was not convicted on all charges, Owen Labrie was held accountable in some way by a jury of his peers for crimes he committed against our daughter. This conviction requires him to take ownership for his actions and gives him the opportunity to reflect upon the harm he has caused.’’
No timeline or hearing date has been set for the appeal. Labrie is scheduled to be sentenced on October 29.
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