By Lindsey Stokes
Staff Writer

The elite St. Paul’s prep school graduate, who received national attention last month when he was acquitted of felony rape charges, has filed a motion to dismiss the one felony he was found guilty of that would require him to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.

Owen Labrie was accused by a former St. Paul’s student of rape the day before he graduated from the prestigious school in May 2014. The girl was 15 years old at the time.

While Labrie was acquitted of felony rape, he was found guilty of using prohibited computer services to lure a minor, a charge that carries a lifetime sex offender registration and the potential of up to seven years in prison.

Labrie’s attorney, J. W. Carney, say the punishment does not suit the crime. He claims it is a clear violation of his client’s eighth amendment rights, and that the three misdemeanors Labrie was also found guilty of prove the encounter between the two students was consensual. “The dramatic increase in punishment is so wildly disproportionate to the crimes of which the defendant stands convicted,” said Carney.

During the trial, Labrie admitted to arranging a meet up with the girl over Facebook as part of the school’s “Senior Salute” tradition, where older male students contact younger female students in an attempt to “hook up” before they graduate.

The message was considered by the court to be a solicitation.

After the trial ended, the victim’s family released a statement saying that while Labrie was not convicted on all charges, he was to some extent held accountable for his actions.

Labrie is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 29.