Penn State fraternity suspended over Facebook page with nude photos

A Penn State University fraternity has been suspended for a year after a police investigation of allegations that some members posted nude photos of women on an invite-only Facebook page, the university said Tuesday.

A former member of Kappa Delta Rho at the university’s State College campus, about 130 miles east of Pittsburgh, told police about the page in January. The page had been used by other members to share photos of “unsuspecting victims, drug sales and hazing,” according to the police warrant.

Some of the posts showed nude women who appeared to in “sexual or embarrassing positions,” the warrant says, a few of them seemingly asleep or passed out.

“It appears from the photos provided that the individuals in the photos are not aware that the photos had been taken,” it reads.

State College Police Lt. Keith Robb said authorities are still working to determine who posted the photos and to identify potential victims. Anyone who posted pictures of the women could be arrested on charges including invasion of privacy, he told the Los Angeles Times on Tuesday.

A second Facebook page titled “2.0” was created around April 2014, after a woman whose photo was posted on the first Facebook page “Covert Business Transactions,” discovered the group and complained, the ex-fraternity member told police.

That woman was visiting the fraternity when a fraternity member left his Facebook page logged in. She saw a photo of herself topless, posted to the group.

About 144 people were members of the group at the time, according to the warrant, including students and alumni.

Kappa Delta Rho’s national leadership initially suspended the chapter for the rest of the semester pending a membership review. The leadership is “committed to hold our brothers accountable for their actions,” Executive Director Joseph Rosenberg said in a statement.

Rosenberg said in a second statement that the fraternity’s actions reflected “the most serious misconduct, most serious disregard of Fraternity rules, policies and property.”

The Penn State chapter can appeal its suspension to the National Judiciary Committee, he said.

The national office is also conducting a full membership review and reorganization. Kappa Delta Rho was founded in 1905 and has 37 chapters across the country.

“We embrace the principle of respect for all persons and we will adhere to that principle in this matter,” Rosenberg said.

News of the Kappa Delta Rho suspension comes just one week after the University of Oklahoma’s decision to ban the OU chapter of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity and swiftly evicted the group and expelled two students accused of playing a “leading role” in a racist, profane chant caught on video.

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FOR THE RECORD

An earlier version of this article said the University of Oklahoma suspended the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity and evicted it. The university banned the fraternity and then evicted it.

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