A lawyer for Owen Labrie, the former St. Paul’s School student found guilty of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl on campus in 2014, is asking a New Hampshire court to suspend the remainder of his jail sentence.
In court documents filed in Merrimack County Superior Court, Jaye L. Rancourt wrote that “incarceration of Mr. Labrie at this point serves no purpose.”
In 2015, Labrie was sentenced to a year behind bars for sexual assault. He was free on bail while he appealed his convictions, but was sent to jail in 2016 for violating the terms of his release by missing court-ordered curfews. He served 63 days as a result of the bail revocation order, according to court documents.
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Rancourt argued that Labrie has “essentially been under house arrest for over two years” and that the goals of sentencing have been met. She argued that his sentence be suspended or amended to allow work release or home confinement.
She said that Labrie, who has been living with his mother in rural Vermont, “recently obtained full-time employment.”
Assistant Merrimack County Attorney Joseph A. Cherniske urged the court to deny Labrie’s motion, saying “his post-sentencing conduct does not satisfy the general goals of sentencing, neither does it meet the specific goals as set forth by the court in its sentencing order.”
The time Labrie spent out on bail before he was sentenced does not count as credit against his sentence, Cherniske said. The court’s authority to amend a sentence is limited by statute, he added.
Labrie’s “self-serving characterization of his conduct and circumstances post-sentencing does not justify reducing his 12-month sentence for three counts of sexual assault and child-endangerment to 63 days,” he said.
Lawyers on both sides have requested a hearing.
Labrie, now 23, was acquitted of rape charges but convicted of misdemeanor sexual assault for having sex with someone below the age of consent and using computer services to entice a minor. He received a suspended sentence on the computer services conviction.
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Earlier this month, the New Hampshire Supreme Court upheld his convictions by a 3-0 margin.
Travis Andersen and John R. Ellement of the Globe staff contributed to this report. Danny McDonald can be reached at daniel.mcdonald@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @Danny__McDonald.