CONCORD, N.H. – The teenage girl who has accused a graduate of an elite prep school in New Hampshire of raping her as part of a practice of sexual conquest will be on the witness stand again.
Owen Labrie of Tunbridge, Vermont, is charged with multiple felonies. Prosecutors say he was two days away from graduation last year when he raped the then-15-year-old girl in a building on the grounds of St. Paul's School in Concord as part of "Senior Salute," in which seniors try to have sex with underclassmen.
During testimony Wednesday, the girl, now 16, said she didn't remember telling a close friend about sexual acts she was prepared for when she met up with Labrie.
Labrie, now 19, has pleaded not guilty and said the two had consensual sexual contact but not intercourse.
Lawyers for both sides say the case hinges largely on whether jurors believe the accuser. Defense attorney J.W. Carney told jurors Labrie will testify.
Prosecutors have described Senior Salute as "the context for this entire event."
The case has cast a critical light on St. Paul's School — one of eight members of a prep school Ivy League of sorts — that boasts as alumni an international roster of senators, congressmen, ambassadors, Pulitzer Prize winners, Nobel laureates and two World Series of Poker winners.
The girl has testified she felt "frozen" when Labrie became aggressive and she said she initially felt the sex assault was her fault for not kicking, screaming or trying to push him off.
"I'm thinking how naive of myself, and I never should have left my room that night," she testified. "I felt like I was out of my body. ... I didn't want to believe this was happening to me."
Testimony continues on Thursday. It began Tuesday and the trial is expected to run for two weeks.
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