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A Penn State University fraternity has been suspended after the discovery of two private Facebook pages containing pictures of mostly nude women taken while the subjects were sleeping or passed out. Photograph: Karen Bleier/AFP/Getty Images
A Penn State University fraternity has been suspended after the discovery of two private Facebook pages containing pictures of mostly nude women taken while the subjects were sleeping or passed out. Photograph: Karen Bleier/AFP/Getty Images

Penn State fraternity suspended over nude photos of sleeping women

This article is more than 9 years old
  • Photos of women posted to two private Facebook pages
  • Pages also contained photos of hazing and drug sales

A Penn State University fraternity has been suspended after police discovered two private Facebook pages containing pictures of mostly nude women taken while the subjects were sleeping or passed out.

Several members of the Kappa Delta Rho fraternity contributed photos to the Facebook pages, according to a search warrantseen by the Guardian.

One page, called “Covert Business Transactions”, was deleted after a victim allegedly discovered the page. In its place, fraternity members created a second version called “2.0”, police said.

State College police said nearly 150 current students and alumni had access to the private pages, which also included photos of hazing and drug sales. Most of the other photos were primarily of women, partially clothed.

“It appears they were passed out or sleeping,” Lieutenantt Keith Robb of the State College police told WJAC TV.

Police are working with the fraternity’s national headquarters and Penn State’s Office of Student Conduct and Interfraternity Council (IFC). The IFC suspended the fraternity after learning about the Facebook page, said president Rick Groves.

“Not only to determine potential victims, potential suspects, but also to sanction the fraternity for their conduct,” Robb told WPXI.

“Delta Rho, the chapter was immediately placed on full chapter suspension by Penn State’s Interfraternity Council,” the IFC said in a statement. “Upon completion of all investigation into this matter, Kappa Delta Rho will be summoned by the IFC to undergo a conduct review session.”

A former fraternity member provided investigators with alleged screen shots of the account, which “showcase a small fraction” of the page’s posts.

One screen shot shows an image of a woman in shorts, taken from below. In another, a woman appears naked sprawled out on a bed. One blurry photo includes the comment “LOL delete those or we will be on cnn in a week.”

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

Kappa Delta Rho National Fraternity’s executive director, Joseph Rosenberg, said that it put the chapter on suspension for the remainder of the semester after learning that it had been suspended by the school from Penn State officials. Rosenberg said the national fraternity was reviewing the chapter’s membership and would cooperate with law enforcement and the university’s investigation.

“Upon the completion of that investigation, we will evaluate these further findings and make a decision regarding the Penn State chapter that is appropriate for all parties,” Rosenberg said in an emailed statement. “The national leadership of Kappa Delta Rho is committed to hold our brothers accountable for their actions.”

Facebook users can report content, like nude photos, that violate the social network’s community standards. The company on Sunday clarified that it prohibits photos “of people displaying genitals or focusing in on fully exposed buttocks”.

“We also restrict some images of female breasts if they include the nipple, but we always allow photos of women actively engaged in breastfeeding or showing breasts with post-mastectomy scarring,” Facebook said. “We also allow photographs of paintings, sculptures and other art that depicts nude figures.”

Facebook has been contacted for comment.

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