La. frat suspended after pledges allegedly burned in hazing
NEW ORLEANS—Ten Tulane University students faced felony battery charges Wednesday and their fraternity was suspended after accusations that the group burned pledges with hot water and pepper spray during a "hell night" initiation.
Police said two Pi Kappa Alpha pledges received second- and third-degree burns last month from boiling water and crab boil being poured on their bodies and were treated at a hospital. Crab boil is a hot spice added to water to boil crabs.
"The two students were treated at a local hospital for severe burns that occurred during the hazing," Officer Garry Flot, a New Orleans police spokesman, said in a news release.
The scalding was done to see who could stand the most pain, said attorney Paul Hesse, who represents one of the pledges who had "severe second-degree burns to his back, buttocks, shoulders, arms and over 20 percent of his body."
"He is getting medical treatment twice a day and is in a lot of pain," Hesse said. His client is unable to attend school, but Tulane has agreed to allow him to take final exams when he has recovered, Hesse said.
Hesse would not identify his client, saying he feared reprisal.
The fraternity members have turned themselves in to police, though it was not immediately clear if they were being held. They were booked with aggravated second-degree battery, which carries a sentence of up to 15 years in prison.
A Tulane spokesman declined to comment on the allegations or the status of the students on Wednesday, but the school issued a news release saying it suspended its Pi Kappa Alpha chapter and will investigate.
"This fraternity is no longer a recognized fraternity at Tulane," the school said. "The university has zero tolerance for any type of hazing or other incident which can potentially endanger the well being of any student."
The Pi Kappa Alpha International Fraternity also suspended the Tulane chapter.
It released a statement saying that actions such at those alleged to have happened at the New Orleans chapter were "reprehensible, and are completely contrary to our mission."
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