46 members of University of New Hampshire fraternity face hazing charges

Forty-six arrest warrants have been issued for members of a fraternity at the University of New Hampshire in an ongoing investigation into allegation of hazing.Police said 10 members of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon have been arrested as of Friday.Durham police said they were contacted by representatives from UNH on April 18 regarding alleged hazing at the Sigma Alpha Epsilon house on Madbury Road during an event days earlier.An investigation was launched, and police said they found probable cause that the crime of student hazing had occurred.While authorities will not provide any details about what the nature of the alleged hazing was, News 9 has learned that the incident involved new members of the fraternity. The 10 students who were arrested were released and are due in court on July 13. UNH spokeswoman Erika Mantz released a statement saying the fraternity has been suspended."We were made aware of the incident by the fraternity’s national headquarters and immediately notified the Durham Police Department," the statement said. "We have cooperated with police throughout the investigation, and the fraternity was interim suspended pending the outcome of the police investigation. 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 released a written statement in response to the investigation."The Sigma Alpha Epsilon Fraternity Service Center was made aware of an incident in April involving members of our chapter at the University of New Hampshire," the organization said in the statement. "Upon learning of the alleged incident, SAE immediately issued a Cease and Desist of the chapter, began our own investigation, and informed The University of New Hampshire's administration. SAE's investigation was paused upon being notified about the opening of a police investigation. We are fully cooperating with the local authorities' investigation and have urged all of our members to do the same."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."Student hazing is a misdemeanor charge punishable by up to a $1,200 fine for individuals and $20,000 for organizations.