Date: January 30th, 2022 8:50 AM
Author: ,.,;,;,.;,.;,.;,,,,;,.,;
Maybe
Hirschfeld was absent during the trial in order to avoid drawing
attention to other hushed-up incidents, including one involving his son,
Chessy’s friend, which had also required mandatory reporting. Law
enforcement had been aware of these but did not take any publicly
noticeable action. This time it was different: According to Chessy’s
memoir, Buzz had been keen to “educate” St. Paul’s about the bad
practice of “Senior Salute” dates that had become prevalent since
Hirschfeld’s (whose mission statement for the school was “freedom with
responsibility”) tenure as head of school. Buzz had handed Detective
Curtin a student she could actually go after: a scholarship kid and
therefore a disposable asset unlike some of the other students who were
either from legacy families with deep pockets or sons of board members
such as Andrew Thomson, a roommate of Owen’s, whose relationship with an
underage girl had been caught by her parents, brought to the school’s
and Concord Police’s attention but resulted in a private deal for him
not to visit the school within three years of graduating. Chessy writes,
“Andrew’s mother, Lucy Hodder, was on the board of trustees at St.
Paul’s, so he had a lot at stake.” Lucy Hodder was also, at the time,
legal counsel for the governor of New Hampshire. Their family, the
school, and the state were mutually compromised. Lucy Hodder missed her
deposition by being out of the country for her scheduled appointment. If
Owen had been perceived to have as much at stake, would St. Paul’s
lawyers or the Concord Police have engaged with him and his lawyers the
same way they did with Andrew Thomson’s? Did that explain why the NH
state judge sustained the NH state prosecutor’s objection to
cross-examination questions about Andrew’s own relationships at the
school?
While the Prosecutor made it clear in her opening statements
that St. Paul’s was not being tried in the criminal trial, Chessy’s
memoir reveals that the Prouts had already engaged a civil suit lawyer,
Steven J. Kelly, who sat in the wings (collecting evidence) and gave
Chessy advice for her testimony. Alexander Prout publicly complained
that nobody paid for their courtroom appearance costs. But the family
still managed to hire outside legal counsel for a lucrative civil case
against the school that repeated everything in the criminal trial to
leverage their position to get a financial settlement. The Prouts’
statements at sentencing spoke more about the culture of St. Paul’s than
they did about the person being sentenced. They were prepping their
civil suit case and the publicity around it was going in their favor.
They talked to several production companies about going public before
going on The Today Show to tell Chessy’s story. By going public they
would be able to profiteer off the celebrity of this case, to influence
public perception in full knowledge that appeals were pending which
customarily mandate no statements or press of any kind that could
possibly influence an outcome.
Steve Silverman, a partner of Steven J. Kelly’s and whose law firm had previously been admonished in DC in a similar case, https://s3.amazonaws.com/k12-prod-us-east-1-media-pub/36/misc/misc_131058.pdf
called Owen in the summer of 2017 to try to blackmail him into joining
their case against the school. Silverman told Owen that in return for
teaming up with the Prouts, he would have access to police and school
discovery which Silverman believed would exonerate him, including
information about Rector Michael Hirschfeld’s son (Chessy’s close
drinking buddy) who Silverman described as being a “true victim of
sexual assault”. Silverman wanted to persuade Owen that the Prouts and
his interests were aligned. They wanted to enlist his help to go after
St. Paul’s “the perpetrators with the pockets.” Owen was shocked and did
not engage. Was this case, all along, not about justice but about
extortion?
Concurrent to the suit against St. Paul’s in which Alexander
Prout cited “disastrous financial losses” as a result of having to
“leave his overseas job” https://www.scribd.com/doc/314525727/Lawsuit-against-St-Paul-s-School#fullscreen&from_embed
he started another suit. He hired Steven J. Kelly again, as part of a
team to sue Invesco Ltd., his former employer, which had terminated him
in November 2014. Prout and his lawyers were going after both the school
and his employer for loss of earnings and damages during exactly the
same time period. Invesco Ltd. paid out $1.75 million (more than a
year’s salary and bonus even though he picked up another job with Morgan
Stanley a few months later). St. Paul’s settled in January 2018 for an
undisclosed amount. But days before the St. Paul’s case closed in
January 2018, Prout turned on Steven J. Kelly and included him as
defendant in a third lawsuit. This time Prout was suing his lawyers for
failure to perform in his case against Invesco. The defending legal team
rebutted that Prout had already claimed job related damages in excess
of $3 million from his settlement with St. Paul’s school. https://fiucivpro.blogspot.com/2019/02/essay-iii-pratt-v-vladeck-raskin-clark.html
Chessy’s memoir was published less than two months after the announcement of St. Paul’s financial settlement with the Prouts. https://www.concordmonitor.com/Civil-lawsuit-against-SPS-14713367
The timing was extraordinary. St. Paul’s lawyers, as part of the
settlement terms, obviously failed to put a gag order on Chessy since
her defamatory remarks about the culture of the school, several students
(some whose real names were used and others whose identities were
thinly veiled by using pseudonyms), and faculty seem extreme. On the
surface, the memoir seems designed to influence media and public opinion
prior to the New Hampshire Supreme Court hearings that took place later
in the year. Whatever truths might come out to exonerate Owen down the
line, they would be lost under the printed and published pile of
accusations against him, his family, and friends. Yet reading between
the lines, there are several hints that Chessy’s own truth was
suppressed once the demands set in from adults wanting to depict her as
helpless prey to a predator. Chessy hadn’t complained of being violated.
Buzz made that claim. What had happened that could be so bad as to
warrant a hospital visit? Why was Detective Curtin so eager to “catch”
Owen when she knew that Chessy had stated “I have never said he raped
me”? simultaneously leaving alone several other incidents from the
school which also required mandatory reporting? Why didn’t they go after
Andrew Thomson? https://www.concordmonitor.com/Owen-Labrie-trial-transcript-St-Paul-s-School-2043118
Why did the victim’s advocacy representatives (introduced to
Chessy by Detective Curtin) audibly say to each other during her
testimony “she needs to cry more”? When it came time for Owen to take
the stand, Chessy flipped and held the bird in full view of the jury and
the judge. The gesture seemed to convey a pent up anger for ending up
in this courtroom mess.
These are details that failed to make it into Chessy’s memoir or
even the media sensationalizing the trial. Yet they are details that
seem relevant for a fair assessment of this story and its outcome.
Others have remarked that Chessy has misquoted and mischaracterized
them. It’s sad that nobody dares speak up but with it being such a
target for publicity, who would dare? But is it Chessy who has been
driving this, or Buzz, Detective Curtin, Catherine Ruffle, Susan and
Alexander Prout?
It is now over 5 years since the encounter between Owen Labrie
and Chessy Prout took place. Owen completed his jail sentence on June
24th 2019 (about which Chessy commented in her book: ”I felt guilty that
Brock Turner got half the sentence Owen did. At least I didn’t end up
unconscious next to the dumpster.” Chessy not only didn’t end up
unconscious, she didn’t have any visible wounds, no lacerations and no
evidence of semen/sperm that could be traced to Owen.
Owen Labrie’s sentence is several times more than twice Brock
Turner’s if you take into account that in addition to the jail sentence
and the two and half years (32 months) he spent wearing an ankle monitor
and abiding by strict curfew, he has 3 years on probation, a 7-year
suspended state prison sentence and a lifetime on the sex-offender
registry for the computer felony of using his computer to invite Chessy
out on Facebook; something that Chessy points out in her memoir was a
universally common form of communication across the entire school.
It feels like this a case that went too far. It got out of
Chessy’s hands and into the hands of “responsible” adults. She, her
family and Detective Curtin seemed to be angered that Owen wouldn’t
agree to a plea deal (which sadly is something that is coerced from a
staggeringly high statistic of innocent people just to get a case over
with but has far-reaching and damaging repercussions). If she had really
been the victim of an aggravated felonious sexual assault, none of them
would have wanted a plea deal, and that is where, for me, this story
truly falls apart.
Are the grownups in this case: Buzz Whelan, Detective Curtin,
Susan and Alexander Prout, Catherine Ruffle, Michael Hirschfeld and St.
Paul’s School faculty and board satisfied that depriving Owen Labrie for
the rest of his life of the freedom and opportunities that they all
have, was the real justice?
What was the Prouts’ end goal? They have been very publicly
calling Owen a rapist yet they were angry that he didn’t settle for a
plea deal. They ultimately decided to pursue three additional civil
suits for money in addition to the criminal suit.
There are adults in this story who are accountable. Adults who
knew things and didn’t speak up. Adults who had their own prejudices,
career, political, financial, or publicity motives. Adults who did not
think about the devastating effect of their interpretations or their
actions. Adults who advised other students to keep quiet because nobody
wanted to rock the sacred episcopal institution that promised to get
them all into college. Adults who failed to question the Concord Police
on its decision to publicize this case instead of others before and
after which also involved students from St. Paul’s.
Buzz saw her opportunity in Owen Labrie, vulnerable as he had
just graduated and therefore no longer under automatic protection of the
school, as a way to expose a culture. Detective Curtin’s career
trajectory was enhanced as a result of her work on this case. But can
either of these really be commended as professional advocates of
children’s welfare? Between them they appear to have commanded and
manipulated a situation from what was originally reported as a minor
incident involving “giggling,” “laughing” and Chessy’s boasting about
the encounter into a major criminal scandal, that caused mental and
physical harm to these two young people: Chessy, who frequently writes
of mental health issues or being physically sick in her memoir, and Owen
who was on suicide watch as a result of the charges. Did the State of
New Hampshire ever question the true severity of the charges against the
evidence in hand and realize that they would not “prove a point” or
teach a lesson but actually destroy?
Silence is complicit. It is cowardly. It is not worthy of any
adult who has a duty to help teenagers navigate a healthy path to being a
responsible member of society. Is turning a school into a “police
state” the answer when that police buries the real truth and actively
works against a fair playing field? Or is it asking adults to stop and
think about what it’s like to be a teenager and to adapt their worldview
accordingly.
The popular term of “rape culture” is a lot more complex when it
comes to teenagers experimenting with relationships and sexuality in
their natural path to adulthood. Owen Labrie was arrogant and stupid to
ask Chessy on a “Senior Salute” date. He should have known better. But
he was a typical 18-year-old boy, same as several others (boys and
girls) in his class who had also sent invitations via email and engaged
with underage students at the school. He didn’t force Chessy to meet
him. Chessy made that decision herself because she was “flattered” to
receive his attention and she was curious: a typical reaction from a
15-year-old girl. She had corresponded with other seniors about “Senior
Salute” and lap dances prior to going on the date with Owen. When first
asked about the encounter, Lucy told the detective that Chessy said “I
have never said that he raped me.” Fifteen months later, Detective
Curtin, Catherine Ruffle, the media frenzy and advocacy groups changed
her opinion. Since nobody has ever given an explanation for the
sperm/semen stained portion of her underwear with the DNA of several men
on it, not attributable to Owen and since we never heard the details of
her conversations with those first adults, where was the state’s
evidence for the felony charges they brought?
This is not to defend Owen or criticize Chessy but to bring
attention to the fact that neither one of them was doing anything other
than many others in both their grades. Owen was the first in a “ring” of
boys that the Concord police publicly announced they were going after.
Their targeted “ring” disappeared when adults decided to step in where
legacy kids were concerned.
The State never turned over the interview the Concord Police had
with Andrew Thomson on June 26, 2014. Chessy’s book (with its
introduction and endorsement by NH Congresswoman Ann Kuster) reveals her
own email exchanges with Andrew Thompson in which he had invited her
explicitly for a “secret snuggle” and to his “lap tonight at 9pm”. The
police had these exchanges along with those between Andrew and the
underage girl with whom he was in a relationship. Timing on those emails
indicate that he broke up with the girl within a couple of hours of
that police interview. Information regarding Andrew’s own situation was
concealed from the jury at the time as a result of an objection and
sidebar conversation. Ultimately the NH Supreme Court ordered it to be
opened but not until several months after Owen had been convicted. The
Concord Monitor reported in May 2016 that the revelation came “at a
potentially important moment for St. Paul’s. Lawyers for the family of
Labrie’s victim have been weighing a lawsuit since the trial ended in
August”. Steve Silverman, the Prout’s civil lawyer, was quoted regarding
the revelation of claims against Thompson as “additional evidence of an
irresponsible administration.” The Prouts’ civil suit against St.
Paul’s was filed 3 weeks later. It mentioned several boys’ names who had
all been witnesses during the criminal trial but it noticeably avoided
any mention of Andrew Thompson, his soliciting of “secret snuggles” from
Chessy or his relationship with the underage girl. The omission is so
obvious that it points to knowledge of a cover-up whose exposure would
be dangerous for both the Prouts and the state.
Did the Concord Police and the State of New Hampshire violate
Brady laws by suppressing the information it had on Andrew Thomson that
could have impeached him as a witness? Catherine Ruffle’s sidebar
conversation with Judge Smukler and Carney revealed that she was aware
of a deal regarding Andrew Thompson stating: “I think they (police) were
previously involved in talking to this girl” and knew “that the parents
were unhappy” but fumbled on with “I don’t believe the police had any
part of it”. That being the case, why would the state withhold discovery
if there was nothing to hide? And, more importantly, how would the
state be aware of a deal being made with Andrew Thompson if his
relations with an underage girl broke state law and he and the girl had
both had police interviews? Was the state covering up some kind of
collusion between the police and the school? Did that also account for
why Lucy Hodder, legal counsel to the governor, managed to avoid
deposition? Did the Concord Police also violate the same laws by
suppressing the knowledge they and the Prouts had in February 2015,
several months before the trial, that the DNA on the semen/sperm portion
of Chessy’s underwear also presented a problem? A problem the
prosecution covered up in its closing statements at the trial by
misrepresenting the facts that had been presented?
Despite online email/text material evidence that Andrew Thomson
was aware that his relationship with an underage girl was “against the
law” and physical material evidence regarding Chessy’s underwear which
the Concord Police knew provided “reasonable doubt,” Merrimack County
Attorney Scott Murray issued a statement that police had “thoroughly
investigated the Labrie case and that his office was presented with no
evidence which would have supported sexual assault allegations against
other individuals.” An ironic statement given that the Attorney General
announced its criminal investigation into St. Paul’s School based on the
findings from the Labrie which would have included the defenses
allegations about Andrew Thomson. Surely a conflict of interest
presented itself in the State’s rebuttal and later use of the Andrew
Thomson inquiry to support its own purposes.
Money, influence, self-aggrandizement, self-enrichment and
reputation triumphed over justice, morals and ethics. Would the Prouts
have allowed the charges against Owen Labrie to go ahead if his family
had wealth and connections or had made a major donation to the school as
they had? St. Paul’s showed no support for Owen Labrie but insisted on
protecting other students from being charged when the school came under
the microscope of the state’s criminal investigation. https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2017/07/13/authorities-launch-criminal-investigation-into-paul-school/lQlsVVDDOs2VBx1p9rB99N/story.html
The state agreed in September 2018 that they would not press charges against students despite their findings. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/13/us/st-pauls-school-sex-abuse.html
Chessy writes that Catherine Ruffle and Detective Curtin came up
to her at an Advocacy event. “We’re very proud of you Chessy,”
Catherine said. “Yeah, really proud” Detective Curtin nodded.
The Concord Police, the state and St. Paul’s have taken down
several announcements, documents and notices pertaining to this case.
Reports by students tattling on the Twitter site @prepfessions about a
plethora of other scandals that had happened on the St. Paul’s campus
have also mysteriously disappeared. Lucy Hodder is no longer legal
counsel to governor Hassan. Catherine Ruffle is no longer a prosecutor.
Michael Hirschfeld has stepped down as Rector of St. Paul’s. Buzz took
an early retirement. According to Chessy, she was given a hard time by
the school about her handling of the incident. Steve Silverman took on
another Jane Doe case against the school. In late March 2019 the
plaintiff withdrew the charges.
So, what really happened? It would appear as though the Concord
Police, in eagerness to catch someone from St. Paul’s, used Chessy as a
naïve participant to help them with their agenda, to build a case with
scant evidence and even fewer details or witnesses. The quid pro quo? If
she would “agree to make a statement” and “cooperate” as she writes she
did, the Prouts would have enough discovery (triggered perhaps by the
Andrew Thompson information) for a rich civil suit against the school.
Labrie’s friends would all escape being charged if they cooperated with
the police and became snitches for the trial (hence why the opening
statements of the trial mention that St. Paul’s was not on trial). The
school was forced to comply with the Concord Police in order to prevent
charges against other students and to avoid exposing Michael Hirschfeld.
Although Judge Smukler told Labrie at the end of the August 2015
trial that he should appeal the Computer Felony Charge, the
sensationalist & targeted media, now carefully commanded by the
Prout family, appeared to influence him when it came to sentencing in
October 2015. Smukler told Labrie that he was “a very good liar”, an odd
comment to come from the judge after the jury acquitted Labrie of
felony rape and Detective Curtin admitted that everything he had told
her during that almost 4 hour interview, turned out to be true. The
State & the Prouts spent a lot of the sentencing on the culture of
the school, now finished with their need for Labrie’s friends to snitch.
The discovery from the Labrie trial enabled the Prouts to sue
the school, (in spite of DA Scott Murray’s claim to Labrie that there
were no other individuals engaging in illicit sexual activities)
mentioning Labrie’s friends except Andrew Thomosn. In turn, the
discovery from the criminal trial and the civil suit provided the
Concord Police and State with exactly what they needed to justify a
criminal investigation of the school, leading to a settlement whereby
the Concord Police agreed not to make any more arrests with current
students or faculty. In September 2018 Alexander Prout penned an article
in the Concord Monitor, praising the settlement and bizarrely, the
decision not to press Child Endangerment charges against the school. https://www.concordmonitor.com/Accountability-after-Me-Too-20465996
In return, St. Paul’s agreed to hire a “Compliance Officer” who
would publish a report every 6 months of every instance, substantiated
or not, and report directly to Gordon MacDonald, the Attorney General of
New Hampshire and the Concord Police. That would all be fine except
that Gordon MacDonald is currently blocking public access to a list of
260 police officers on an Exculpatory Evidence list which a judge ruled
should be made public in April 2019. At least two of those officers work
at the Concord Police Department. Could Gordon Macdonald be protecting
Detective Curtin and the team that went after Owen Labrie? The
possibility seems to be justified: In August 2019, DA Robin Davis, who
replaced Scott Murray when he became US Attorney for New Hampshire, was
sued by a sexual assault worker for an alleged “hostile work
environment”. The suit was filed by the same local attorney that the
Prouts had used when Silverman sued St. Paul’s School. Buried in the
document are allegations that DA Robin Davis had criticized the handling
of Owen Labrie’s case & the too close relationship between law
enforcement and prosecutors. Davis was also criticized for her alleged
problems with the New Hampshire Sexual Assault Statute and the lack of
evidence required to bring charges.
Councilwoman Amanda Grady-Sexton, Director of the New Hampshire
Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence was quick to criticize DA
Robin Davis’ views and Bradley Osgood and another Police Chief were
also quoted stating that they could make “a million arrests but there
wouldn’t be any point if the arrests didn’t pass legal muster”. Had they
just openly tipped their hand to an agenda to arrest & prosecute
without due process? Are the police, the DA’s office, Amanda
Grady-Sexton, Congresswoman Kuster all in on this to promote their own
agendas over justice & truth? It would seem so.
In September 2019, the following article appeared in the Concord
Monitor, perhaps a suggestion that collusion between Concord Police,
Gordon MacDonald, AG, St. Paul’s School and Alexander Prout is more than
a theory: Judge Richard McNamara ruled that the report that had been
ordered by the AG on the school would not be made public after all.
Publicly McNamara declared that the information, especially in the
internet age, could have far reaching effects for victims or
perpetrators who were never charged. The underlying indication seems to
sugget rather that all parties were too compromised to have the truth
come out, but happy to make secret deals with each other while leaving
Owen Labrie to be the scapegoat for all the crimes.
https://www.concordmonitor.com/St-Pauls-School-Concord-NH-grand-jury-report-remain-confidential-28809670
This article from October 23rd 2019 about Judge McNamara’s decision should raise eyebrows
http://thesestonewalls.com/gordon-macrae/grand-jury-st-pauls-school-the-diocese-of-manchester/
And then I discovered that Chessy Prout, Amanda Grady Sexton,
the NHCADSV, Laura Dunn & her organization SurvJustice all share the
same publicist: Dan Hill of Hill Impact (hillimpact.com) “Helping
brands make an impact, overcome adversity and avoid crisis”. In 2017
Amanda Grady Sexton was awarded the “Sandra Matheson Award for Exemplary
Commitment to Victims of Crime” by AG Gordon MacDonald; A 2018 article
from NHPR http://www.tinyurl.com/ydb82rwu
revealed that Amanda Grady Sexton had been paid $48K in addition to her
councilwoman’s salary to promote the 2018 controversial “Marsy’s Law”.(
The money came from beleaguered California Billionaire Henry T.
Nicholas III who has had several charges against him over the years for
Securities Fraud (Broadcom), Drug Trafficking & has allegedly
frequently solicited prostitutes. He has paid his way out of jail each
time.) Chessy Prout was promoted as an advocate for it (which is strange
if you consider that the law would have undone privacy for juveniles).
Was it more than coincidence that Chuck Douglas Esq. (Ex NH Supreme
Court Justice - who had been local counsel to sue the school on behalf
of the Prouts & who filed suit against the new DA Robin Davis) had
also been paid $17.5K to push the law through? Was it more than a
coincidence that Amanda Grady Sexton spoke out to block updating the
computer felony laws to take into account the fact that is it the most
common form of communication amongst teenagers? https://www.concordmonitor.com/New-Hampshire-lawmaker-Jack-Flanagan-pushes-bill-to-alleviate-punishment-for-teen-sex-messages-22157669
When I then read that SurvJustice was leading the lawsuit
against Betsy DeVos on Title IX roll-backs, I started to realize the
money flow & lobbying behind Chessy Prout was so big that they were
never going to let Owen Labrie speak publicly on National TV. Someone
high up, perhaps Congresswoman Ann Kuster or the Attorney General of New
Hamsphire had made the call to GMA to cancel it. Nobody could afford to
have their web of collusion & politics exposed. Did the national
political agenda behind #MeTooVoter actually start with Laura
Dunn/SurvJustice and her first client Chessy Prout?
The whole situation has been grossly manipulated by the adults
in charge. I Have the Right To? It’s an odd title when you consider that
Chessy’s raw story of what really happened has effectively been painted
over to serve a political purpose.
Post note: On March 29, 2019 Chessy Prout and her father,
Alexander Prout, appeared on TV on the Bloomberg Network and were
interviewed by Jenn Abelson who was the co-author of Chessy’s book “I
Have the Right to”. The timing of the interview coincided with Labrie’s
incarceration and before the results of his second NH Supreme Court
appeal were announced. In the interview, Chessy refers to Owen as “my
Attacker” while Alexander Prout claims that they “learned about 5 or 6
other girls that (Owen) had sexually assaulted who did not come
forward”. The prosecution never mentioned other girls who had claimed to
be violated. Ex-girlfriends of Owen’s have spoken of attempts by the
Concord police to coerce them into saying that they had been violated
but failing to do so. The interview came across as a deliberate smear
campaign to malign Labrie before the Supreme Court made their decision.
On June 10th, 2019, while still incarcerated, Labrie’s second
appeal to the New Hampshire Supreme Court for the Computer Felony was
denied. There was barely any news coverage, . Ann Kuster, Amanda
Grady-Sexton and none of the NH representatives who had previously been
so vocal about this case stayed silent. Sensationalizing the
uncomfortable truth of this new precedent for New Hampshire did not fit
the narrative they wanted to project, for now.
On July 12th, 2019 Owen’s request to transfer to California for
his probation where he had been offered a job and help with
accommodation, was denied for the second time.
He was accepted by Vermont but denied job opportunities and a
place to live since most rental properties won’t take a convicted
sex-offender. Any state to which he transfers from New Hampshire is able
to add on it’s own restrictions for sex offenders regardless of whether
the crime for which he was convicted is a crime in the receiving state.
In 38 states, an 18 year old using a computer to set up a date with a
15 year old in the same school is not a crime. In most states Romeo and
Juliette laws would apply as well (requiring the difference in age to be
4 years) and the intent would have had to be to commit a felony as
opposed to the misdemeanors for which he was otherwise convicted. In
some states the housing restrictions for sex offenders are so great that
the police even advise sex offenders to live in the streets. In others
they are required to wear GPS monitoring for life. They are not allowed
computer access despite a US Supreme Court ruling that they should not
be denied access. Sex offenders in many states are not even allowed to
be alone in the presence of their own children and are not allowed to
attend their own children’s birthday parties, go to the park, libraries,
schools or any other area where children could be present.
On July 18th, 2019 Owen was supposed to appear in an exclusive
interview with Amy Robach of ABC News on “Good Morning America” and
“20/20”. This would have been the first time he would speak publicly
about the case and his experience. Owen points out an inconvenient
truth: that the jury convicted him for something for which testimony was
neither presented nor argued at trial. He said there was no sex and she
said there was a felonious sexual assault. The jury said she was a
consenting participant, albeit underage. If the jury did not believe
Chessy’s account that there had been an assault what was the reasoning
behind the jury’s decision that a misdemeanor assault had actually
occurred? How could Owen be convicted for using a computer to solicit
sex from someone whose very exclamation: “I was raped” was abjectly
undermined by the jury’s verdict?
On July 17th, 2019 a Twitter frenzy from Alexander Prout, The
New Hampshire Coalition against Domestic Violence, End Rape on Campus
and many others including NH public servants attempted to block the Good
Morning America Interview with Labrie. They called him a “Predator” and
a “Rapist”. Good Morning America said initially it would air the
interview in early August. It let a week and a half go by before letting
Labrie know that it would no longer be airing the piece. Ironically The
New Hampshire Coalition against Domestic and Sexual Violence posted a
tweet to ABC: “Please choose journalism over sensationalism. Stand with
survivors and don’t give Owen Labrie a platform”. Sensationalism
endorsed by this organization, congresswoman Annie Kuster (who used the
case to speak to Congress and promote her own Caucus on Sexual Assault),
The Concord Police and promoted by The Prout Family and their lawyers
Steve Kelly and Steven Silverman at the time of charging, leading up to
and during the trial and while the appeals process was pending has
suddenly been forgotten because it is no longer convenient to the
narratives they need for their agendas.
Where have the ethics of Public Servants (Concord Police,
Council Woman Amanda Grady-Sexton of the NHCADSV, Senator Hassan,
Congresswoman Anne Kuster) gone on this case when they all got involved,
using Chessy Prout as a public puppet for their own agendas in a case
that acquitted Owen Labrie of felony rape and was pending appeals when
they all jumped on the sensationalist bandwagon?
On August 21, 2019 the new Rector (Kathleen Giles) for St.
Paul’s School sent a letter to St. Paul’s community with the first
report from the new compliance officer, Jeffrey Mayer who was brought in
as a result of a settlement with the State of NH AG’s office criminal
investigation of the school. That compliance officer reports directly to
the NH AG, Gordon McDonald, who, simultaneously is blocking the Judge
ordered release of the Exculpatory Evidence Schedule which has the names
of 260 corrupt NH police officers on it, some of them with Concord
Police. The first report mentions nothing about computer felonies but
lists several reports of sexual assaults that the compliance officer
reported to Concord Police. In a state where a complainant requires no
witness corroboration and no witness evidence, the fact that St. Paul’s
is entrusting its students to oversight of someone who reports to someon
who is protecting bad police officers, reeks of corrupt practices. NH
State has received an “F” in ethics for its public officers.
On September 30, 2019 The Concord Monitor article appears
stating that the report on St. Paul’s school ordered by the Attorney
General, will not be made public.
Conclusion:
This is a story about how the Concord Police’s, NH state
prosecutors’, Prouts’ and Laura Dunn’s need for sensationalism
manipulated and changed the narrative of an otherwise unextraordinary
tale of two high schoolers in a he said/she said sexual encounter. The
fact that Labrie was headed to Harvard from one of the nation’s top prep
schools made it all the more sensational. It wouldn’t have had the same
ring to it if he had gone to Concord High School and was going to study
at the University of New Hampshire.
Further, if the jury in 2015 found Owen Labrie to be not guilty
of the aggravated sexual assault charges which sparked the media frenzy
prior to the trial, then what real evidence did the police possess to
support those charges in the first place? It took them over a week of
interviews before they even approached Labrie for questioning. It took
them another month and a half before the charges were made.
Consider that without the aggravated sexual assault charges
there would have been no sensationalism and without the targeted media
sensationalism the case most likely would have come to a different
conclusion.
Too many public officials had an unnatural and perhaps unlawful
interest in this case. They turned a blind eye to the defamation and
slander lobbied at Labrie in the targeted media campaign which had been
cited by St. Paul’s school prior to Chessy Prout revealing her identity.
The sensationalism that these public officials bought into pushed the
case to a point where it wouldn’t have been in the Concord Police,
Councilwoman Amanda Grady-Sexton’s, the Attorney General’s or
Congresswoman Ann Kuster’s interests to have it overturned. They had
made public appearances supporting Chessy Prout, promoting their own
businesses, books, tours or non-profits, Congresswoman Ann Kuster used
the case to support her own cause on Capitol Hill. The course of justice
was overtly obstructed by the unlawful interest of so many public
officials.
If you strip away everything, the only adult to testify
regarding what was said about the encounter was a school nurse who said
it was “consensual and not coerced”. Somewhere between that meeting and
the announcement of the charges a month and a half later, the narrative
changed but at whose direction and for what purposes?
Post- conviction evidence presented in the St. Paul’s school
response to the Prout’s “Jane Doe” civil suit guides us to the following
truths: a) that the State had misconstrued and redacted online
communications from Owen Labrie to make their case b) that Chessy’s
housemistress, in addition to the school nurse, had no reason to believe
any sexual misconduct had taken place c) that the school disagreed with
some of the arguments presented by the State regarding Chessy Prout’s
conversation with her housemistress and the State’s assertions about the
meaning of “Senior Salute”, “hook-up”, “score”, “Slaymaker”.
Post-Conviction evidence presented in Chessy Prout’s August
31st, 2016 NBC TV Today Show interview also disputes the State’s
assertions during the August 2015 trial. In the interview Chessy says
that they were expecting an apology so they could all just move on. Jaye
Rancourt Esq. and Robin Malone Esq. commented that this was news to
them and their client Owen Labrie. They also stated that the interview
with Chessy Prout was troubling because of its potential to influence
public opinion and a jury before appeals could be heard or the request
for a new trial.
Post-Conviction evidence presented in the recorded “black-mail”
phone call from Steven Silverman Esq. on behalf of the Prouts to Owen
Labrie in Summer 2017 shows that Owen Labrie was singled out, that the
Prouts believed that Owen’s interests were aligned with theirs to go
after the school and that if he joined them in going after the school,
they would be able to provide him access to discovery, including police
discovery, which might exonerate him.
Post-Conviction evidence presented in Chessy Prout’s memoir “I
Have the Right To” published in March 2018 demonstrates a) Chessy’s
sworn testimony in the 2015 could have been influenced by Laura Dunn Esq
who was introduced to Chessy by Detective Curtin. Laura Dunn appears to
have profited off the case to promote her own new business SurvJustice
in her own PR efforts for victims and as a victim’s advocacy rep. Laura
Dunn’s website http://www.lauraldunnesq.com/media.html
shows several articles and a TV interview she did about the case. That
interview happened during the trial and would have influenced public
opinion on the case. b) credibility issues for Chessy Prout and
Detective Curtin. Chessy writes in her book about statements she wrote
which were lies (or not representative of how she really felt) begging
the question about whether her court testimony was reliable as well. She
writes that Detective Curtin told her to not worry about the details of
what happened. Since Detective Curtin was caught on the stand in a lie
by Defense Attorney Jay Carney, how credible is the rest of her research
and statements. If the school nurse testified that the encounter was
consensual and not co-erced, if Dr. Gerardo-Gettens (in the SPS civil
suit response) said that there was no reason to suspect any sexual
misconduct then either Buzz Whalen (the school therapist who called
Detective Curtin) or Detective Curtin decided to turn the encounter into
the aggravated sexual assault. Chessy’s memoir points to the central
roles of Buzz Whalen, Detective Curtin and Laura Dunn. The Jury was not
made aware of these. Their testimony and credibility in light of
Chessy’s statements in her memoir has to be questioned. c) details about
the encounter differ in Chessy’s memoir from her court testimony - one
detail she mentions in her book is about her sandals and the clicking
they made up the stairs. She then writes about feeling the cold concrete
floor under her bare feet. This is a detail that didn’t make it into
court testimony but raises the question of whether she was a willing
participant since she would have had to take her shoes off to feel the
bare floor. It also raises questions about whether or not there was an
“element of surprise” since if her shoes came off, it would suggest that
she was expecting more than she maintained in her court testimony. d)
question about whether or not Owen Labrie acted “knowingly” since Chessy
cites an email from Owen McIntyre in which he states that had Owen
Labrie known that he was doing anything to hurt Chessy emotionally or
physically he would have stopped e) timing issues of emails and texts –
the text or email correspondence Chessy engaged in with Andrew Thomson
and Duncan Norton regarding lap dances. Did she meet up with them
earlier that night? Who did she meet up with to account for the multiple
DNA contributors in the sperm stained portion of her underwear? The
timing of her email to Owen saying that things are getting out of hand.
Did this happen at the hospital or earlier (as indicated in court
testimony). f) contextualizing of the email correspondence in Chessy’s
memoir shows that Owen Labrie’s emails were less sexual in nature than
some others, his invitation to a senior salute was not unexpected.
Corresponding with other seniors was something Chessy was used to.
Post-conviction evidence presented in the numerous publicity
interviews and tours as well as the Bloomberg TV interview in March 2019
demonstrate that Chessy Prout’s credibility in the trial should be
re-evaluated since her narrative about the incident and Owen Labrie has
changed so radically over the years. In March 2019 on Bloomberg TV she
refers to Owen as her “attacker” and a “predator”. Alexander Prout
mentions that they were told that Owen had aggressively assaulted 5 or 6
other girls who had not come forward. This is a very different
narrative to the August 31st, 2016 Today Show interview in which she
said she was originally just expecting an apology and everyone could
move on. Which is different from the court testimony in which she says
“I was raped, I was violated”, which was different from her original
police interview in which she said “I have never said he raped me” and
said that Owen Labrie couldn’t have known through her giggles that she
didn’t want to have sex.
Post-conviction evidence presented in the numerous
Tweets/articles from various organizations such as New Hampshire
Coalition against Domestic and Sexual Violence, NHPD, Concord Monitor,
Union Leader, End Rape on Campus, The Hunting Ground, It’s On Us,
ServJustice, Laura Dunn, Alexander Prout, PAVE protesting the ABC on-air
interview under the banner of calling for “ethical journalism over
sensationalism” which demonstrates how Concord Police, The State,
Council Woman Amanda Grady-Sexton, Journalist Jenn Abelson (who
co-authored Chessy’s memoir), Alexander Prout, Chessy Prout,
Congresswoman Ann Kuster (who penned the introduction to the memoir and
was inspired to talk to Congress as a result of Chessy’s NBC interview
in 2016) have used sensationalism to their unfair advantage since 2014
to influence public opinion, and to profiteer off the case for their own
political agendas.
Their sensationalism relies on the narrative that Owen Labrie is
a “Convicted Rapist”. Not one of them has come forward to correct the
narrative to the fact that he was acquitted of felony rape. Not one of
them has publicized the felony computer conviction and the precedent
that has set. Every one of them has brushed over this detail,
suppressing it in favor of a more sensational, incorrect “rapist” chant.
Post-conviction evidence presented on Prosecutor Catherine
Ruffle’s Facebook page of the success of the negative sensationalism
towards Owen Labrie despite his acquittal of the aggravated sexual
assaults: Brooke Ruffle writes “Go get some rapist butt today Mom” in
February 2017 when there was a hearing for a retrial which the NH
Supreme Court did not deem to be a frivolous hearing.
Post-conviction evidence presented in Judge Smukler’s May 2016
statement at the bail reinstatement hearing of a prejudice against Owen
Labrie (such prejudice he did not appear to have in 2015 when he
recommended Owen appeal his conviction) as a result of the
sensationalism painting Owen as a rapist. Smukler announced in May 2016
that he didn’t believe Owen would win his appeal. Other examples of
Smukler’s potentially unlawful interest in the case: sending Owen to
solitary confinement in March 2016 for minor violations of bail
(something even the NH Supreme court found to be cruel and unusual
punishment); giving him a stricter bail curfew (5pm-8am) than most
others on monitors in NH; making him wear the GPS monitor for 32 months,
longer than any other in NH; denying him work release when others
convicted of worse crimes were allowed work release.
2019 Post-conviction evidence that members of the Concord Police
falsified evidence and abused their power in the Owen Labrie case: new
Merrimack County DA Robin Davis who replaced Scott Murray (the DA in
Owen’s case) apparently questioned the handling of the case by police
and prosecutors as cited in The Concord Monitor article 8/7/2019
covering a Hostile work environment lawsuit (case: 217 2019-CV-00494)
brought by a Sexual Assault worker against Davis but filed by Charles
Douglas who was also the local NH attorney that the Prouts used for
their suit against St. Paul’s. The lawsuit is a thinly veiled smear
campaign against Davis’ questioning of the Sexual assault unit and the
too close relationship between Police and prosecutors. The suit appears
to be backed by Amanda Grady-Sexton, a local council woman who is the
Director of Public Affairs for the New Hampshire Coalition against
Domestic & Sexual Violence and the Concord Police who have had an
unnaturally close (possibly unlawful) interest in the Owen Labrie case.
Citing the article about the lawsuit against the DA: “Davis also
questioned the handling of a high profile rape case by police,
including decisions about victim interviews, the suspect’s arrest and
bail, and publicity surrounding the case” …”Robin has expressed her
disapproval of the sexual assault statute and the fact that you do not
need corroborative evidence to prove this crime”…”She says she know what
the statute says, but do you have any evidence?”
2019 Post-conviction evidence – reason to suspect the
credibility and motives of the Concord Police and Prosecutor Catherine
Ruffle. Despite a NH Judge order that the public should be allowed full
access to a list of 260 NH Police officers (including some with Concord
Police) who are on the Exculpatory Evidence List/Laurie List, Gordon
MacDonald, the NH Attorney General is attempting to keep the list secret
from the public. In a court order dated April 23, 2019, Judge Charles
Temple ruled the EES is “not confidential” and “is not exempt from
disclosure under RSA 91-A” and that it shoud be “made public”. Despite
this the NH Attorney General has filed an appeal, at taxpayer expense to
keep this list of bad cops secret from the public. “When you keep
information like this secret, it creates distrust and suspicion” says
Gilles Bissonnette with the ACLU of New Hampshire….”these officers have
engaged in sustained misconduct that concerns credibility and
truthfulness…”
We know from the Owen Labrie case that the Concord Police lied
in the sworn affadivit. We know that the defense caught Detective Julie
Curtin in a lie on the stand. We know from recorded phone calls and
transcripts that she ignored evidence regarding other people’s DNA,
other people’s sexual emails to Chessy Prout, complaint made to Concord
Police department about Andrew Thomson, Owen’s roommate who was engaged
in a relationship with a 15 year old girl that he admitted on line to
know was illegal. We know that Catherine Ruffle told the Judge that she
knew about the complaint about Andrew Thomson and knew about the deal
that had been cut with the school for him not to come on campus for 3
years. We know that she then walked this statement back when Owen
Labrie’s attorney filed a brady violation with regard to Andrew Thomson
discovery. We know that Scott Murray (now US Attorney for NH but at the
time was DA for Merrimack County) stated that he was confident that
there were no findings of any other sexual misconduct. A statement that
doesn’t tie up with the AG’s announcement in 2017 that based on the
Labrie discovery it was launching a criminal investigation into St.
Paul’s school. The results of that inquiry became known in September
2018 and a deal was made and publicly noted not to prosecute other
students.
https://www.concordmonitor.com/Archive/2014/07/StPaulsAffidavit-cm-072614
https://www.concordmonitor.com/Owen-Labrie-trial-transcript-St-Paul-s-School-2043118
Merrimack County Attorney Scott Murray said police and
prosecutors in Concord “thoroughly investigated the case” and “were
presented with no evidence which would have supported sexual assault
allegations against other individuals.”
https://www.concordmonitor.com/Civil-lawsuit-against-SPS-14713367
https://www.concordmonitor.com/Legislators-call-for-AG-to-consider-investigation-of-St-Paul-s-11247293
https://www.concordmonitor.com/News/Police-Fire/Labrie-requests-new-trial-1372845
https://www.concordmonitor.com/NH-Supreme-Court-decision-Owen-Labrie-appeal-convictions-21340313
https://www.concordmonitor.com/NH-Supreme-Court-decision-Owen-Labrie-ineffective-counsel-26088062
https://www.concordmonitor.com/Concord-police-investigate-sexual-assault-at-St-Paul-s-School-10971230
https://www.creators.com/read/dennis-prager/06/07/the-rape-of-a-name-is-also-rape
https://www.concordmonitor.com/New-sexual-conquest-game-at-St-Paul-s-School-11005744
https://www.concordmonitor.com/family-alleges-systemic-failures-in-lawsuit-against-st-pauls-2532739
https://www.concordmonitor.com/NH-attorney-general-investigation-Owen-Labrie-20065440
https://www.concordmonitor.com/Story-of-the-Year-St-Pauls-School-criminal-investigation-Labrie-22139861
https://www.concordmonitor.com/Settlement-agreement-St-Pauls-community-reaction-20169764
https://www.concordmonitor.com/St-Paul-s-concludes-internal-investigation-into-crown-11332424
https://www.concordmonitor.com/Civil-lawsuit-St-Pauls-School-voluntarily-dismissed-24241520
https://www.concordmonitor.com/Merrimack-County-prosecutor-named-U-S-Attorney-for-N-H-15611945
Article from an incarcerated priest of the Diocese of Manchester
citing issue with Judge McNamara’s Decision to keep Grand Jury Report
Private, allowing for Selective Prosecution
http://thesestonewalls.com/gordon-macrae/grand-jury-st-pauls-school-the-diocese-of-manchester/
Nov 3, 2019 Article in Concord Monitor referencing 2015
agreement between different Government Agencies in NH to “support
Survivors”.
https://www.concordmonitor.com/Merrimack-County-motion-to-dismiss-lawsuit-sexual-assault-investigator-29790206
Laura Dunn - Victims Rights Advocate who started SurvJustice and
has said that if you want Due Process go to the ACLU , if you’ve been
raped go to her. She also wants to be Gloria Allred she has said and has
visions of running for Congress. She helped author Joe Biden’s Federal
Directive re Title IX which has brought on a whole slew of Kangarou
Court False Rape Accusations.
theothermccain.com/.../29/laura-dunn-is-an-evil-liar
Henry T Nicholas III - financier behind a lot of these Victims’
Advocacy Groups & behind Marsy’s Law - so a billionaire can buy his
way out of the crimes that his Marsy’s Law is seeking to punish even
more?
https://ocweekly.com/considering-broadcoms-henry-nicholas-iii-after-his-latest-guilty-plea/
Article in Orange County register about failure of Public Official to disclose private jet trip from Henry Nicholas
ttps://voiceofoc.org/2018/08/da-under-scrutiny-for-not-disclosing-private-jet-trip-from-billionaire-henry-nicholas/
Updated Nov 4, 2019
Claire Best
claire@clairebest.net
323 377 4724
(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5004604&forum_id=2#43762155)
Reply Favorite Edit Your Message
Date: January 10th, 2022 9:30 PM
Author: irradiated point partner
BTW, Autoadmit CALLED this schtick 100%
https://xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=4145994&mc=1&forum_id=2
https://xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=3336730&mc=2&forum_id=2
https://xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=3336717&mc=1&forum_id=2
https://xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=3026038&mc=2&forum_id=2
https://xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=3336684&mc=1&forum_id=2
(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5004604&forum_id=2#43762332)
(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5019818&forum_id=1#43873085)
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