Several Charges Dropped In BU Hazing Incident
BRIGHTON (CBS) - Several charges have been dropped against a group of Boston University students accused of hazing last spring.
Nine students were charged in the incident at the Alpha Epsilon Pi house on Ashford Street near campus last April.
Police found five pledges of the underground fraternity bound with duct tape and covered in food.
Five of the nine students accused appeared in Brighton District Court Wednesday, where the District Attorney's Office announced it is dropping some of the hazing charges.
Now, each student faces a single count instead of multiple counts of hazing or failure to report hazing.
Jesse Kay was initially charged with five counts of hazing, five counts of failure to report hazing, and five counts of assault and battery. He is now charged with one count of hazing, one count of failure to report hazing, and five counts of assault and battery. Hazing carries up to one year behind bars, and assault and battery up to two-and-a-half years in jail.
Robert Rappa was charged with five counts of hazing and five counts of failure to report hazing. New information shows he allegedly told the pledges to show up, but wasn't actually there when the hazing occured. As a result, his criminal charges have been converted to civil violations and he must perform 40 hours of community service and pay a $400 fine.
Laurence Rosenblum, Jonathan Toobi and Alexander Nisenzon were all initially charged with five counts of failure to report hazing. Now they are charged with just one count each. In addition, Rosenblum is charged with keeper of a disorderly house. Arraignments for all three have been postponed while they perform their community service. All three were seen in the house but were not present at the hazing.
Justin Katz was initially charged with five counts of failure to report hazing. That's been reduced to one count. His attorney said they have a receipt from a local convenience store that shows he was not at the house at the time of the incident, and returned home five minutes prior to the police arriving.
Kyle Shevrin was not present in court Wednesday. He is in California, and there is no resolution to his case.
Spencer Davidson was arraigned last week. At this point, investigators believe only Kay and Davidson were present during the hazing. Davidson faces the same charges as Kay.
An arraignment for the ninth suspect, Cyrun Nazmiyal, has been put off as well.
WBZ-TV's Karen Anderson contributed to this report.
You can follow her on Twitter @karenreports.
