Nearly a year has passed since then-freshman Daniel Klufas brought forth allegations of hazing against Alpha Delta Phi fraternity, but the legal reckoning that had been expected has yet to follow suit.
Attorney Stephen Seeger, who is representing Klufas, filed a complaint with Magistrate David Eric Van Vleet Aug. 9 after the Durham Police Department closed its investigation into the allegations without pressing criminal charges. Van Vleet declined to issue the warrants for prosecution but instructed Seeger to collect more evidence and present his case again, Seeger said. Van Vleet could not be reached for comment.
Seeger presented a vivid account of a night of abuse to the press last summer. Seeger said that near the end of the pledging process, brothers in the off-campus fraternity, formerly chartered as Sigma Alpha Epsilon, forced Klufas to strip to his underwear while they drenched him with freezing water. One of the members of the fraternity then decided to pour hot water on Klufas to stop him from shivering, sending the freshman into "uncontrollable shivering and shock," the attorney said.
Seeger told The Chronicle during interviews conducted during the Fall and again in February that he and Connecticut-based private investigator Vito Collucci were busy pursuing leads and would be ready to secure warrants from Van Vleet within a few weeks.
But Bob Ekstrand-the attorney for several members of Alpha Delt who had been implicated in the investigation-said that to his knowledge, Seeger has not presented his case to Van Vleet again since his request was initially denied in August. Without warrants from the magistrate's office, Seeger would have almost no legal options remaining to pursue criminal charges, Ekstrand noted.
Seeger said he was exploring several resolutions to the case during the interview in February. Despite repeated requests, Seeger has not been available for comment since then.
"I'm presently dealing with Bob Ekstrand attempting to move the issues along.... We're discussing all options, criminal and civil," Seeger said. "[The] intention is to go forward with the warrant from the magistrate unless some other resolution can be decided upon."
Ekstrand confirmed that he has been contacted by Seeger but declined to comment further on the communication.
Director of Judicial Affairs Stephen Bryan said Duke responded to the allegations of hazing made by Klufas, but he noted that he could not disclose the outcomes of the deliberations because the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act prevents him from doing so. Because Alpha Delt is not recognized by the University, the Office of Judicial Affairs weighed the actions of individual students, he added.
Klufas has taken a medical leave of absence from Duke this year. He did not respond to repeated requests for comment on whether he plans to return to the University.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.