Louisiana police recently arrested nine young men for their alleged involvement in fraternity hazing. They each face multiple criminal charges, including misdemeanor criminal hazing and felony battery. The Louisiana State University chapter of Delta Kappa Epsilon was also closed down.
The hazing incidents allegedly took place in the fall semester of 2018. It is not clear when university officials were first alerted to the possibility of hazing, but those officials then reported the problem to the university’s campus police. The results of the investigation led the police to revoke the chapter’s charter and turn matters over to local authorities.
A pledge at the fraternity reported that he had been forced to correctly recite a list of the original Delta Kappa Epsilon chapters while doing pushups. When he made mistakes, one of the members allegedly kicked him with steel-toed boots. Other allegations involve being forced to consume large amounts of alcohol while in physically strenuous positions. One such claim asserts that pledges had large bottles of alcohol taped to their hands. At least one victim said he was forced to drink so much that he had to vomit in order to finish the task.
The defendants range in age from 21 to 23 years of age, and all were apparently members of the now-closed chapter of Delta Kappa Epsilon. If convicted, they could face serious criminal and personal repercussions that could limit their future opportunities for both education and employment. Minimizing these types of impacts from serious criminal charges is a priority for many Louisiana defendants, so an early and driven focus on criminal defense planning is usually well-advised.
