A judge allowed Owen Labrie to walk out of the Merrimack County courthouse on Tuesday without handcuffs, giving him the chance to celebrate Christmas at home before heading back to jail to serve the remainder of his 12-month sentence.
The St. Paul’s School graduate must report on the morning of Dec. 26 to the Merrimack County jail in Boscawen, N.H., where he previously served 63 days of his sentence for repeatedly violating his bail conditions in the sexual assault case.
In the 947 days since his release, Labrie has been on electronic monitoring at his family’s Tunbridge home, where he has worked with several attorneys to file two appeals in the state’s highest court and to ask for a reduction of his one-year sentence.
The New Hampshire Supreme Court recently upheld Labrie’s felony conviction for using a computer to solicit sex from a 15-year-old classmate, but has yet to rule on his claims of ineffective counsel. Labrie was delivered a second blow on Tuesday when the trial court judge denied his request for a reduced sentence that would have meant no further jail time.
“I think given the crimes and the circumstances that it’s just not appropriate to amend the sentence at this time,” Judge Larry Smukler ruled.
As the high court’s decision in his last appeal looms, Labrie, now 23, will begin serving the roughly 10 months he has left of a 12-month jail sentence that was handed down more than three years ago.
A jury found Labrie guilty of three counts of sexual assault and one count of endangering the welfare of a child following a high-profile trial in Concord in August 2015. He also was convicted of a charge of “certain uses of a computer services prohibited” for using the internet to lure the girl as part of the now-infamous “Senior Salute,” in which upperclassmen competed for intimate encounters with younger pupils.
In court on Tuesday, defense attorney Jaye Rancourt argued that Labrie is deeply remorseful for his actions and has matured into a young man unrecognizable from the one arrested back in spring of 2014.
“I believe that the Mr. Labrie who sits here before you today is a very different Mr. Labrie individual than you met four years ago in your courtroom,” Rancourt said.
She said Labrie’s incarceration for two months in 2016 was a “wake-up call” and since then he has taken steps to better himself, including finding and maintaining employment. Incarceration at this time would serve no purpose, she argued.
But a county prosecutor strongly disagreed on Tuesday, saying that the purposes of sentencing, to include punishment, rehabilitation and deterrence, have not been met.
“The court does not have the authority to amend the defendant’s sentence in this circumstance,” Assistant Merrimack County Attorney Joseph Cherniske told Smukler.
He did not contest Rancourt’s point that Labrie has been of good behavior since his release from jail on May 16, 2016, on conditions of strict supervision.
However, he argued that a defendant’s adherence to court orders while on bail does not warrant less time served.