Winthrop SAE hazers avoid criminal charges

[hoosier]

1/29/05
Fraternity avoids criminal charges for hazing

Winthrop University police will not file charges against fraternity members suspected of requiring pledges to take part in hazing rituals, school officials said Friday.

But at least 12 members of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon house could still be punished under the school's student conduct code, with penalties ranging from reprimands to expulsion, according to university spokeswoman Judy Longshaw.

Winthrop officials say members required the five pledges to submit to physical endurance tests, prolonged sleep deprivation, verbal abuse, psychological intimidation and shoving during the fall semester before they could become part of the fraternity. No one was hurt, but the school said it took action after finding the rituals interfered with the students' academic demands and posed a threat to their health.

Rather than continue pledging, each of the five students dropped out of the process during the course of the semester. All are still enrolled at the school, Longshaw said. Fraternity members have declined to comment on the hazing allegations.

Winthrop and the 16th Circuit Solicitor's Office decided against criminal charges after the five pledges asked to have the case closed, officials said.

"They just wanted to move beyond this," Longshaw said.

Deputy Solicitor Kevin Brackett said prosecutors don't necessarily need cooperation from victims to press criminal charges. But in this case, he said, they had little else to go on.

"The bulk of the case would be their word," he said. "If you've got a reluctant victim in a 'he said, she said' case, what does that leave you with? A whole lot of nothing."

The suspension means the 22-member fraternity cannot take part in any officially sanctioned activities or social functions.

As expected, SAE's national organization revoked the fraternity's charter earlier this month, Longshaw said. It can apply for reinstatement in January 2008.