St. Paul's School rape suspect says he chose to stop sexual encounter

CONCORD, N.H. -- A former student charged with raping a freshman two days before he graduated from an elite New Hampshire prep school testified Wednesday that it was his decision that night -- not hers -- to stop their escalating sexual contact.

Owen Labrie, now 19, was a senior at St. Paul's School when a 15-year-old girl accused him of raping her on May 30, 2014, as part of Senior Salute, a school tradition in which seniors try to romance and have intercourse with underclassmen before leaving campus.

Labrie says the two had consensual sexual contact but not intercourse. Labrie, of Tunbridge, Vermont, testified Wednesday as the defense opened its case that he sent the girl an email inviting her to Senior Salute because he liked her. "I wanted to ask her out," he said.

He described their relationship as "flirty." The girl left the courtroom in tears as Labrie began reading from messages they exchanged just before their encounter. The emails and Facebook communications were projected on a screen in the courtroom. In one exchange, the girl says Labrie's plan to meet "sounds perfect."

Labrie said when they were together that night, the girl never indicated she was in pain or uncomfortable with the contact. He said he was the one who chose to end their increasingly sexual contact.

The girl testified last week that she twice told him "no" during their encounter and that she felt "frozen"when he became aggressive.

Labrie also acknowledged asking the girl whether she was on birth control pills -- to give himself "peace of mind," he said. He said he was concerned some sperm might have gotten on her underwear as their sexual encounter escalated.

Other students testified this week that Labrie -- then 18 -- was competing with friends to see how many girls they could "score" with before graduation and described a range of sexual encounters from kissing to intercourse that were part of Senior Salute.

One said Labrie initially told friends "with a smirk on his face" that he did not have sex with the girl but later told him privately that he did.

Labrie said Wednesday that he told other students he had sex with the girl to make himself look better.

The case has cast a critical light on St. Paul's School, which boasts as alumni an international roster of senators, congressmen, ambassadors, Pulitzer Prize winners, Nobel laureates and other notables.