CONCORD, N.H. — A New England prep school graduate convicted of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old freshman as part of a game of sexual conquest is seeking a new trial, saying his former lawyers were ineffective.
Owen Labrie, 20, was convicted in August of misdemeanor sex assault charges and a felony charge of using a computer to lure an underage student for sex. He was acquitted of felony rape. The computer charge carries the mandate to register as a sex offender for life. He was sentenced to a year in jail.
In her motion sent to a court Tuesday, Jaye Rancourt said Labrie’s lawyers didn’t challenge the computer offense until after his trial and conviction.
“Trial counsel essentially argued that they did not believe the computer offense could stand if Mr. Labrie was found not guilty on the aggravated felonious sexual assault charges,” Rancourt wrote. “Presumably, the trial strategy was to challenge the aggravated felonious sexual assault challenges, assuming that the computer offense would thereby be defeated.”
Rancourt said the lawyers also failed to investigate the girl’s social media accounts, as requested by Labrie. She wrote it was likely that the girl’s Facebook exchanges “would have contained information which may have been used to challenge her credibility regarding her allegations of a forcible rape occurring.”
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