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Dozens of arrest warrants out for New Hampshire fraternity members over hazing

Ten members have already been arrested and face a fine of up to $1,200 if convicted

Graeme Massie
Los Angeles
Sunday 12 June 2022 06:44 BST
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Related video: Surveillance footage shows fraternity hazing ritual

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Arrest warrants were issued for 46 members of a fraternity at the University of New Hampshire over alleged student hazing.

Officials said hazing took place at the Sigma Alpha Epsilon house at an event on 13 April for new members of the fraternity.

Police in the town of Durham, New Hampshire, issued the warrants on Tuesday and by Friday, 10 people had been arrested. Those arrested have been charged with hazing, a misdemeanor which carries a fine of up to $1,200.

The university has now suspended the fraternity, which was reported to the school by its national organisation.

Authorities have not released any details on what allegedly took place at the party, but began their investigation on 18 April after receiving information from the university.

“We have cooperated with police throughout the investigation and the fraternity was interim suspended pending the outcome of the police investigation,” a university statement read.

“Sigma Alpha Epsilon denounces all acts of hazing and misconduct that do not represent the fraternity’s values defined by our creed, The True Gentleman,” the fraternity’s national organisation, which has 12,000 members, said in a statement.

The Strafford County Attorney’s office said several students had turned themselves in, while others had already left the area after classes ended for the school year, according to NBC Boston.

It comes as three Michigan State University fraternity members have been charged over the November 2021 hazing death of a student who was found unconscious and covered in vomit in a basement.

Phat Nguyen died from acute alcohol consumption after attending an off-campus party in East Lansing, Michigan, at the now-disbanded Pi Alpha Phi fraternity’s house.

Ethan Tin Cao, Andrew Hoang Nguyen and Hoang John Huu Pham have each been charged with one felony count of hazing resulting in death and three misdemeanor counts of hazing resulting in physical injury, according to court records.

They could face up to 15 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000 if convicted. All three have been released on $5,000 bonds.

In another highly-publicised hazing incident, new surveillance footage of a University of Missouri fraternity party that left a student permanently brain damaged shows him being handed a tube of beer to drink before he passes out unconscious on a couch.

Danny Santulli, 19, was forced to drink a bottle of Tito’s vodka and force fed beer at the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity house during the “Pledge Dad Reveal Night” in October 2021, in video obtained by Good Morning America.

Mr Santulli is seen being led shirtless through the house by other fraternity brothers before the drinking episode begins.

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