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Penn State President: Frat Posting of Nude Pictures “Very Sad”

Some Penn State students could be expelled after their now-suspended fraternity created an invitation-only Facebook page featuring photos of nude and partly nude women, some of them passed out or asleep, the university's president said Wednesday.

"I can't imagine anybody that's not appalled by the alleged behavior," Eric Barron said in an interview.

The national leaders of Kappa Delta Rho on Tuesday suspended the Penn State chapter for a year over the photo scandal and said it would be reorganized.

Police in State College, where Penn State is based, are investigating allegations the fraternity operated a private Facebook page on which members shared frat house pictures of the women nude or partly nude. According to a warrant, the invitation-only Facebook page had 144 active members, including students and alumni.

Barron said of the webpage: "It's very sad, and it's very offensive."

Police said some of the photos they had seen showed women in "sexual or embarrassing positions." While some of the women photographed appeared to be aware their pictures were being taken, others did not, police said in court documents.

Police have said they have identified at least two photographs that could lead to criminal charges but the investigation is continuing.

Barron said the university is working with police to determine the number of offenders and victims and is promising to hold those responsible accountable for what they did.

"I don't see anything being off the table," Barron said. "This is the kind of behavior that can get someone expelled."

Penn State's flagship campus in State College has about 40,000 undergraduate students and is home to about 50 fraternities, which report about 4,000 members, the university said.

"It's just unfortunately a large system with some very fine young men and some men who are not doing smart things, Barron said.

Police were tipped off about the Facebook account on Jan. 18 by a former fraternity member who shared printouts of some of the pictures. The printouts were included in some of the court documents provided Tuesday to news outlets; police later said that was a mistake.

Police said anyone who posted the photos could face misdemeanor charges of harassment or invasion of privacy, with a fine being the most likely penalty. They also said they expected some women would only want to have the photos removed and not press charges.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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