Admitted Freshman Accused of Sexual Assault No Longer Enrolled in College

Owen A. Labrie, who was expected to be a member of the Class of 2018 before he was accused of sexual assault earlier this summer, is no longer enrolled in the College, Faculty of Arts and Sciences spokesperson Colin Manning confirmed on Tuesday.

Labrie was taken into custody on July 17 in Concord, N.H., and charged with three counts of felonious aggravated sexual assault, three counts of statutory sexual assault, and one count of using a computer to lure a victim to the scene of a crime, according to a press release by the Concord Police Department.

By City of Concord, New Hampshire Police Department

Labrie’s name was removed from the Harvard College Facebook—a student directory that includes the names of enrolled College students—several weeks ago and his Facebook profile can not be found on the Class of 2018’s Facebook page.

Manning declined to provide further comment on the case. Admission to the College can be revoked on several grounds. Director of Undergraduate Admissions Marlyn McGrath Lewis ’70-’73 told The Crimson in 2003 that these grounds include engaging “in behavior that brings into question your honesty, maturity, or moral character."

According to the police department, Labrie allegedly forced a 15-year-old freshman girl at St. Paul’s School, a prominent boarding school in Concord, to have sex with him in the school’s center for mathematics and science on May 30.

The incident began when Labrie sent the freshman a “senior salute,” a spring semester tradition at the school in which senior boys send younger girls emails to solicit a romantic encounter, just before graduation, according to the police affidavit. The female agreed to meet with Labrie after the email exchange, but told investigators that “her understanding was that it was ‘just a hook up,’ which to her meant kissing or making out.”

The affidavit characterized the tradition as a “competition” among senior boys to see how many girls they could “hook up” with before graduating.

A forensic examination on June 3 by a sexual assault nurse examiner found “a laceration that would be consistent with penetration having occurred,” according to the affidavit.

Labrie denied the accusations in an interview with police. The affidavit cites another student who told police that Labrie admitted he had engaged in sexual intercourse with the female student.

Founded in 1856, St. Paul’s School sits on a 2,000 acre campus and has an endowment reportedly valued at more than $500 million.

Labrie was a prefect at St. Paul’s, a position given to seniors to be “student leaders.” In that capacity, Labrie underwent training in statutory rape and consensual sex, according to the affidavit.

Labrie was also a candidate for the Presidential Scholars Program and served as a captain on St. Paul’s varsity soccer team, according to websites run by the Presidential Scholars Program and the school, respectively.

“Whatever further developments become known in this case, a serious breach of our standards of mutual trust and respect has occurred,” St. Paul’s Rector Michael G. Hirschfeld wrote in an email to parents and students. “I am determined to learn if this alleged violation is an aberration or represents a broader issue that our many School-wide conversations about a healthy community have not sufficiently addressed.”

A St. Paul’s spokesperson declined to comment further on the case to The Crimson.

Labrie was released on $15,000 personal recognizance bail and is scheduled to be arraigned on September 15 in the 6th Circuit District Division in Concord.

—Staff writer Tyler S. Olkowski can be reached at tyler.olkowski@thecrimson.com. Follow him on Twitter @OlkowskiTyler.