46 UNH fraternity members face charges over alleged hazing

Arrest warrants have been issued for 46 members of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity at the University of New Hampshire after an alleged hazing at an event in April.

Few details were released, but the Durham Police Department said Friday that they had been alerted to an incident that occurred at the SAE chapter house on April 13 during an event for new members.

A spokesperson for the University of New Hampshire told the Daily News Sunday that school officials had been ”made aware of the incident by the fraternity’s national headquarters and immediately notified the Durham Police Department.”

“We have cooperated with police throughout the investigation and the fraternity was interim suspended pending the outcome of the police investigation,” the spokesperson 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 national Sigma Alpha Epsilon organization also said that it launched its own investigation after hearing about the allegations, but has paused to allow police to do their work.

“We are fully cooperating with the local authorities’ investigation and have urged all of our members to do the same,” the group said Saturday.

“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.”

As of Friday, ten members — Seth Burdick, Benjamin Chase, Robert Doherty, Daniel Fachiol, Charles Farrah, Robert Hardy, Jr., Oliver Jacques, Gabriel Kwan, Mason Steele and Colby Travis — have been arrested and released with summonses. They are due back in court on July 13. All were charged with hazing and face a fine of up to $1,200.

A spokesperson for the Strafford County Attorney’s Office did not return a request for updates from the Daily News Sunday.