Defense Rests in N.H. Prep School Rape Trial

Owen Labrie, 19, of Tunbridge, Vermont, is charged with multiple felonies

The 19-year-old New Hampshire prep school graduate accused of raping a freshman girl took the stand Wednesday in his own defense.

For the first time in seven days, Owen Labrie stopped outside of court in front of dozens of photographers and reporters and stood with his attorney.

He didn't say a word, but defense attorney J.W. Carney said he's glad the jury got to "meet the real Owen Labrie."

On the stand Wednesday, Labrie says he invited a freshman girl to the rooftop of a St Paul's School campus building, because he liked her.

"I thought it was a beautiful view and I wanted to share it with her," Labrie said.

Labrie is accused of raping that 15-year-old girl two days before he graduated in 2014.

He says after they looked at the view, they went inside to a secluded attic space, and started kissing.

"I would whisper in her ear and she would do the same in mine, and it was enough to make us giggle," Labrie testified.

He says she helped him take off her shirt and shorts, and lay out a blanket on the floor. Labrie says whatever he was doing, she was reciprocating.

"She would have her hands on my back, move them up and down, or hold me closer," he said.

He admits when he pulled at her bra strap, she rejected him.

"She looked at me and she giggled and she took her arm and moved it so it would fall back into place," he explained.

Labrie says he never took off her bra or underwear, but did stop to get a condom from his wallet.

That's when he says he had second thoughts and they didn't go any further.

Labrie says they never had sex, but explains to the jury why he would tell his friends later that night that they did.

"I said yeah just to make myself look better to these boys," he said.

The prosecution focused it's cross examination on emails between Labrie and his buddies, in which they exchanged words like "slay" and "score," and created a list of girl's they'd consider for a "Senior Salute." The alleged victim's name was written in uppercase letters.

When the prosecutor asked Labrie, "Senior Salutes sometimes meant yes," he responded, "yes."

"But yours meant something different," asked the prosecutor.

Labrie replied, "yes."

And then the prosecution uses the defendant's own testimony against him

"After all that thinking about her, and all the foreplay, you just stopped," the prosecution asked.

Labrie responded, "no we kept kissing."

"And that was the moment of 'divine inspiration,'" the prosecutor asked.

"I wouldn't use that word now," Labrie said. "When Detective Curtin asked over and over and over again, I used that term, I was just saying I was really grateful I had."

Labrie also admitted to deleting 119 Facebook messages after talking to Concord Police detectives. He says his mom told him to do it.

We also learned today, Labrie was on a full scholarship to Harvard after graduating St. Pauls. That plan is obviously on hold. The St. Paul's "Rector's Award" for character that he received at graduation has also been taken away.

Thursday, there will be closing arguments and then Labrie's fate will rest in the hands of the jury.

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