A year after the trial that divided both a country and a campus, Chessy Prout has revealed herself as the victim of a sexual assault by Owen Labrie, then a student at St. Paul's School in New Hampshire. Because the incident and the trial took place when she was a minor, she was granted anonymity by law—but is choosing to shed it in favor of shedding the stigma common with assault victims.
On Today, Prout spoke of how the assault, the trial and the aftermath affected her as a young woman and a student of St. Paul's."It's been two years since the whole ordeal and I feel ready to stand up and own what happened to me," she says, "And I'm going to make sure other people, other girls, other boys, know they can own it too and that they don't have to be ashamed of it either."
At the time of the assault, Prout was a 15-year-old freshman at the prestigious St. Paul's School. She was lured into a sexual situation by a popular senior athlete, 18-year-old Owen Labrie. The assault took place as a part of a tradition of the senior boys called Senior Salute, where male students would try to gain "points" sleeping with younger female students (which is a predatory and sexist practice in and of itself). Prout testified for three days during the trial. In the interview, she said the trial was not at all what they were expecting. "We were prepared just to recieve an apology letter... We were prepared just to move forward with our lives and let them move forward with their lives," she said, adding that at no point did she want to cause trouble even right after the assault—"I was just trying to go smoothly and not cause waves."
Labrie was acquitted on all three counts of felony sexual assault but was convicted of three misdemeanor counts of statutory rape and one felony charge of using a computer to lure a minor. He was subsequently sentenced to one year in jail with five years probation, and must register as a sex offender in New Hampshire. He is currently appealing his sentence.
But Prout isn't thinking about her attacker. She said in the interview that she wants to move on—she even went back to St. Paul's at one point. But her return was shortlived. She was ostracized by her male classmates, people she once called friends. "They didn't even look me in my eyes," she said. She even found that the school did not do much to prevent any potential sexual assualts. St. Paul's categorically denies there is a culture that may contribute to sexual assault at the school, but they do admit that Prout's story have caused them to look more deeply at the issue.
She has panic attacks now because of her assault, but refuses to let anything stop her. Prout now wants to create a culture of change, one that includes and empowers others survivors of sexual assault, starting with a Women's Bill of Rights and the hashtag #IHaveTheRightTo. "I have the right to my body. I have the right to say no," she said.
