OU, Athens Police probe alleged hazing incident

Ohio University's dean of students has met with officers and members of the OU chapter of Delta Tau Delta fraternity, as part of a university investigation into an allegedly violent, alcohol-fueled hazing incident that put two students into the hospital.

"œThe allegations are very serious," acknowledged Dean of Students Ryan Lombardi. "œIf they are true, it's extremely concerning to me, absolutely."

The national office of the fraternity announced Tuesday that it is suspending the OU chapter's operations until the local investigation is complete.

"We are taking the allegations very seriously," Jim Russell, executive vice president of the fraternity, told The Athens NEWS.

Russell added, however, that "because it's an open investigation, we are not going to comment until that investigation is complete."

Police reports suggest that the two students were among a dozen fraternity pledges who were allegedly pressured to drink large amounts of alcohol and beaten by fraternity members.

An Athens Police report states that late Nov. 12, officers were called to the emergency room of O'Bleness Memorial Hospital in connection with a student who had allegedly been assaulted at the Delta Tau Delta house at 4 University Terrace.

The student, Michael J. Pristera of Prospect, Ky., had been picked up by emergency personnel at his Jefferson Hall dormitory room, with injuries to his face and torso, the report said. These included a chipped tooth and a "swollen bloody nose."

Witnesses reportedly told officers that Pristera had been injured during a Delta Tau Delta initiation, in which he "was forced to drink a lot of alcohol and then would get slapped around, and if he refused to drink or refused the beating, he would not get into Delta Tau Delta fraternity."

Around 2:30 the next morning, the report says, APD got another call from O'Bleness ER, about another man who had allegedly been assaulted at the frat initiation.

Complainant Thomas A. Rotar of Chardon, Ohio, had "visible injuries to his chest, arms and back," the report stated. These allegedly included "hand prints from getting slapped," as well as "the imprint of a palm heel strike" on his right side.

According to the report, Rotar told police he was blindfolded and forced to "chug" large amounts of alcohol, "repeatedly slapped around," and hit in the head. He allegedly added that a number of other fraternity pledges were treated the same way, as part of the initiation. The report suggested that as many as 12 students overall may have been subjected to the alleged hazing.

The NEWS attempted to contact all the students named in the police report. Most were unreachable; two who did pick up the phone declined to comment on the incident.

Police have tried to contact the other students, with partial success, the report suggests. They were given the names of nine male students by one of the alleged victims.

Another initiate, Greg Tropf, who was at the ER with Rotar told officers he underwent the same treatment, but "didn't seem as concerned as Rotar about the whole incident," the report said.

Both Rotar and Tropf told officers that Pristera "seemed to get the worst beating out of all the pledges," the report said.

Based on the police report, both Pristera and Rotar were apparently reluctant to cooperate with the police investigation, for fear of getting fraternity members in trouble, or endangering their own chances for getting accepted into the group.

OU's Lombardi said he got very little information from the initial meeting with fraternity members, and has scheduled another. He noted that the Athens Police are pursuing a criminal investigation of the alleged incident, and OU will deal with the alleged hazing as a disciplinary matter, which could target individual frat members, the Delta Tau Delta fraternity as an organization, or both. Punishment for the fraternity could range from reprimand to ejection from campus, he said.