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Andrew Seely (family photo)
A 20-year-old Central Michigan student has been charged in Isabella County in Mt. Pleasant with one count of hazing resulting in injury for allegedly smearing peanut butter on a student's face while he was passed out at the Alpha Chi Rho fraternity house. The student, who had a peanut allergy, was rushing the frat and had an extreme physical reaction.
Dale James Merza, 20, of Rochester Hills, who was charged in the incident, turned himself in Friday to Mt. Pleasant Police, reports Susan Field of The Oakland Press.
The incident happened last October, but the victim, Andrew Seely told his family about it earlier this year, saying he sought medical attention for an allergic reaction that left his face severely swollen, the paper reports.
Seely has transferred to another school.
Alpha Chi Rho is not affiliated with Central Michigan University and has not been sanctioned by the national Alpha Chi Rho organization since 2011 because of its inability to comply with rules and guidelines, the paper reports.
"I'm confident that once the facts are laid out in court, Mr. Merza will be found not guilty of any kind of hazing. This case has been blown way out of proportion by the individual's family members, who were not present and don't have any of the facts," attorney Bruce Leach told Tresa Baldas of the Detroit Free Press. "Mr. Merza has never been in trouble before in his life. I don't believe he'll be convicted."
“He could have been killed,” the victim's mother wrote in a March Facebook post that went viral.
