U of H frat indicted on hazing charges after member body slammed and internally injured

HOUSTON (AP) — A Harris County grand jury has indicted the parent company of a University of Houston fraternity on a misdemeanor hazing charge for depriving pledges of adequate food, water and sleep during a three-day November 2016 event where one student was body slammed and sustained a lacerated spleen.

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The university already has suspended the fraternity Pi Kappa Alpha from campus until 2023.

The indictment Thursday names Memphis, Tennessee-based Pi Kappa Alpha International Fraternity Inc. The company did not immediately respond to messages left by The Associated Press.

Conviction could result in fines up to $10,000. Prosecutors say the indictment focuses on one student pledge who was rolled around in vomit, spit and feces and was forced to run in darkness while being blindsided by fraternity members tackling him.