Renaud appears in court for Prince case

NORTHAMPTON, Mass. (WWLP) - 18 year old Austin Renaud, who is charged with the statutory rape of Phoebe Prince, faced a judge on Tuesday.

Austin Renaud appeared in court in Northampton with his lawyer Terrence Dunphy.

If convicted of statutory rape, Renaud could face 10 years to life in prison and have to register as a sex offender.

During the hearing, dates were set for Renaud’s future court appearences. The final pre-trial conference was set for February 10 and the trial will start in March of next year.

Following the pre-trial hearing, 22News spoke with Dunphy, who called his client a “Quiet respectful kid.”

“He's working, he's staying out of trouble, he's focused on this. He's out of school, He's been unable to complete his education at this point. He needs to get this resolved before he carries on with the rest of his life,” Dunphy said.

Prince's aunt, Eileen Moore, was at Tuesday’s hearing, but would not speak on camera. Moore was a key player in bringing bullying expert Barbara Coloroso to speak in South Hadley on Tuesday night.

That event starts at 7:30 P.M. at South Hadley Town Hall. The public is welcome to attend and ask Coloroso questions about how they can stop bullying in their towns.=