Owen Labrie, man convicted of sexual assault at prep school, released early for good behavior
On Monday, Owen Labrie, the 23-year-old convicted of sexual assault as a New Hampshire prep school student, was released early from prison on good behavior.
"Owen is happy to be home with his family. He will be settling in and working on rebuilding his life," Labrie's lawyers said to ABC News in a statement.
When he was 18, Labrie, of Tunbridge, Vermont, was accused of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old classmate at St. Paul's School in Concord, New Hampshire. At 19, he was acquitted of felony rape but was deemed guilty of lesser sexual assault charges, a felony computer charge for luring a minor and a charge for endangering a child's welfare, according to The Associated Press.
At the time of the assault, in 2014, Labrie,18, was three months away from attending Harvard when he and his classmates engaged in a school tradition called "senior salute." The practice was meant for students at the private school to spend time with peers they want to get to know better before heading to university.
Before the tradition began, Labrie described it in a message to friends as "an eight-week exercise in debauchery, a probing exploration of the innermost meanings of the word sleaze bag."
During the trial Labrie testified that the description was his attempt at making a joke.
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In October of 2015, Labrie was sentenced to 12 months in prison, according to ABC. His sentence was suspended by a judge, and he was released on bail to live in the home of his mother while he appealed the verdict. However, after missing his court-ordered curfew on multiple occasions, the bail was revoked.
According to the AP, he reported to the prison just after Christmas, after a judge refused to shorten his sentence. He was released from Merrimack County jail with 10 months remaining of his sentence.
More than two weeks ago, New Hampshire's Supreme Court denied Labrie's request for a new trial.
The court dismissed arguments that his trial lawyers were ineffective for failing to mount a defense against the computer charge. The claim was denied by the court three to zero, according to the AP. The same court upheld his computer convictions last year.
Contributing: The Associated Press.
Follow Morgan Hines on Twitter: @MorganEmHines.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Owen Labrie, man convicted of sexual assault at prep school, released early for good behavior
