Rape case highlights internet laws

The rape trial of St. Paul’s student Owen Labrie has drawn attention to New Hampshire’s law against using the internet to solicit sex with a minor.

Labrie was eighteen when he used Facebook and e-mail to invite a fifteen year-old student for a “senior salute.” St. Paul’s students have described the “senior salute” as a tradition among seniors to have a sexual encounter with a younger student.

Although Labrie was acquitted of felony rape, he was convicted of a Class B Felony under RSA 649:B-4, which prohibits the use of the internet to “seduce, solicit, lure, or entice a child.” Labrie was also convicted of several lesser charges.

After that verdict, Labrie’s attorney said RSA 649:B-4 was “never intended for kids getting together consensually at the high school that they both attend.”

When RSA 649:B-4 was passed in 1998 – and revised again in 2008 – it is true that debate did not touch on a situation similar to Labrie’s. Discussion focused on anonymous “internet predators.”

On the other hand, Labrie’s actions clearly match the definitions laid out in RSA 649:B-4, regardless of the law’s intent. Copies of e-mails and Facebook messages show Labrie’s invitations to the fifteen year-old girl as well as his intent – shared with friends – to have sexual contact with the fifteen year-old.

Do you think RSA 649:B-4 rightly includes sexual encounters between high school students? Post your thoughts in the comments section below.