Four members of a San Diego State University fraternity have been charged after a 19-year-old pledge for their house was set on fire during a party, the District Attorney’s Office said.
The members of Phi Kappa Psi were charged with at least one felony each, including recklessly causing a fire with great bodily injury, conspiracy to commit an act injurious to the public and violating the social host ordinance, prosecutors said.
The fraternity’s 22-year-old president, a 20-year-old pledge board member and a 20-year-old pledge were charged in connection with the incident, prosecutors said. The 19-year-old pledge who was set on fire was also charged.
They pleaded not guilty in an arraignment in San Diego Superior Court Monday. Prosecutors said that if the defendants are convicted of all the charges, they could face probation of up to seven years and two months in prison.
The defense attorneys for the four could not be immediately reached for comment Tuesday.
According to investigators, the incident occurred on Feb. 17 during a large party at the fraternity house located near the corner of Aztec Walk and 55th Street, prosecutors said.
The fraternity was on probation at the time, meaning the organization had to “demonstrate exemplary compliance with university policies,” according to SDSU’s website.
Prosecutors said the skit called for the older of the two pledges to light the other on fire during the party. After drinking alcohol in the presence of the fraternity president, the three younger men then performed the skit, prosecutors said.
The fire left the pledge with third-degree burns on over 16% of his body, primarily to his legs. He spent weeks in the hospital to treat the burns, officials said.
Prosecutors said three of the defendants made an effort to lie to the investigators in the case, deleted evidence on social media, and instructed other fraternity members to destroy evidence and not speak to anyone about the incident.
All the defendants were released on their own recognizance. Still, the court ordered them not to participate in any fraternity parties, not to participate in any recruitment events for the fraternity, and to obey all laws, including those related to alcohol consumption.
SDSU officials said Tuesday they learned about the incident after receiving an anonymous call. The fraternity was placed on an interim suspension, pausing all of the fraternity’s activities while the claims were investigated, university officials said.
The university reported the incident to the campus Police Department, as is standard procedure for instances of alleged hazing, officials said.
The fraternity’s suspension remains in effect and the university took additional actions, but because of student privacy laws, those actions were not disclosed, officials said. An administrative investigation is also currently underway.
“The university prioritizes the health and safety of our campus community and has high expectations for how all members of the university community, including students, behave in the interest of individual and community safety and wellbeing,” SDSU officials said in a statement.
