Bail has been revoked for a graduate of an exclusive New England prep school who was convicted of sexually assaulting a younger student.
Two years ago, Owen Labrie was headed to Harvard University on a full scholarship. Friday, he was taken to jail.
For the first time since he was convicted of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old classmate at St. Paul's Prep in Concord, New Hampshire, Labrie was placed in handcuffs.
"I think he is still in shock," said his defense attorney Jaye Rancourt.
The 20-year-old is now headed to Merrimack County Jail to begin his year-long sentence. Labrie admitted to violating his 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. curfew three times to get to Boston early in the morning. Rancourt argued that Labrie was working on a master's thesis and needed to meet with professors.
"He was getting up early in the morning to try to better his life and now he is in jail and that's a shame," she said outside court after a judge revoked Labrie's bail.
Prosecutors became aware of the probation violations after seeing a vice.com story by reporter Susan Zalkind in which she wrote about an encounter with Labrie on the MBTA from Cambridge to Boston on Feb. 29 in which he told her that he was nervous that he wasn't going to make it home in time.
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In announcing his decision Friday, Judge Larry Smukler said he found it troubling that Labrie took it upon himself to handle bail conditions.
"Your honor, our position is that these are willfull violations," Ruffle told Smukler.
Rancourt says Labrie has been physically and verbally attacked since his trial gained national attention.
"People send death threats to his home," Ruffle said.
She says didn't file a motion to extend Labrie's curfew because it would have made his travel schedule public, claiming it also would have put a target on his back.
"If people know that Owen's going to be at a bus station at 5 a.m., people are going to show up," Rancourt said. "I don't regret not setting him up for that because I would regret if I found out one day he was attacked because of a motion I filed in court," Rancourt said.
She says there is a possibility that Labrie could serve his entire sentence before his appeal is ever heard.
