By Megan Fernandes
FOSTERS DAILY DEMOCRAT
DURHAM — Forty-six members of a University of New Hampshire fraternity are being charged with hazing.
The Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity’s New Hampshire Beta chapter was also charged this week in connection with the alleged hazing incident in April, according to Durham police.
Arrest warrants were issued Tuesday, charging the fraternity and 46 of its members with student hazing, which is a Class B misdemeanor punishable by up to a $1,200 fine when brought against an individual. Student hazing is an unclassified misdemeanor punishable by up to a $20,000 fine when brought against an organization, according to police.
Deputy Strafford County Attorney Emily Garod said because the UNH spring semester is over and students have left campus, police are actively trying to track down fraternity members.
As of 2 p.m. Friday, police said, 10 of the suspects had been arrested, released on hand summonses and scheduled to appear for arraignment Wednesday, July 13 at the 7th Circuit Court in Dover.
“New Hampshire law allows us to charge any person that participates as an actor in student hazing, anyone present during student hazing who fails to report it and anyone who submits to hazing and fails to report it,” Garod said. “We have charged individuals that fall into any of these three categories.”
Due to the ongoing investigation, Garod said, she could not provide any more information on the specific acts of hazing. She said there was no evidence of serious injuries.
UNH spokesperson Erika Mantz said the university was made aware of the incident by the fraternity’s national headquarters. Durham police said they were notified by campus representatives in April that new members of the fraternity were possibly hazed at an event inside the fraternity’s house at 28 Madbury Road.
“We have cooperated with police throughout the investigation and the fraternity was interim suspended pending the outcome of the police investigation,” Mantz said. “We take any allegation of hazing very seriously, and now that the police investigation is complete, we will be initiating a formal conduct process.”
The Durham Police Department stated it investigated the allegations and determined there was probable cause the crime of student hazing had occurred.
Dave Pascarella, a spokesperson for Sigma Alpha Epsilon nationally, said SAE “denounces all acts of hazing and misconduct that do not represent the fraternity’s values.
He said the fraternity’s national organization was made aware of the alleged UNH incident in April.
“Upon learning of the alleged incident, SAE immediately issued a cease and desist of the chapter, began our own investigation, and informed the University of New Hampshire’s administration,” he said in a prepared statement. “SAE’s investigation was paused upon being notified about the opening of a police investigation. We are fully cooperating with the local authorities’ investigation and have urged all of our members to do the same.”
This story will be updated if more information becomes available.
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