CENTRE COUNTY, Pa. — Note: The video is from 2018.
Two former Penn State students were sentenced to prison terms and probation for their roles in a fraternity hazing incident that left another student dead in 2017.
Brendan Young, 28, and Daniel Casey, 27, were sentenced Tuesday to prison terms of 2-4 months, followed by three years of probation in Centre County Court, Pennsylvania Attorney General Michelle Henry said in a press release. The duo must also perform community service as part of their sentences, according to Henry.
Young and Casey are the final two criminal defendants charged in the hazing death of Timothy Piazza in 2017, Henry said.
Beta Theta Pi fraternity leaders at the time, Young and Casey participated in and facilitated a 2017 hazing event where Piazza was a sophomore student pledge. Piazza was found unresponsive the next morning after consuming large quantities of alcohol and died days later as a result of multiple falls incurred subsequent to his intoxication, according to Henry.
“Our thoughts are with the Piazza family and everyone affected by this tragedy,” Henry said. “Nothing can undo the harm Tim suffered seven years ago — nothing can bring Tim back to his family and friends. With the sentences ordered today, the criminal process reached a conclusion.”
Young and Casey entered open guilty pleas in July, meaning their sentences would be determined by a judge.
Since receiving the case, Henry said, the Office of Attorney General fought vigorously for charges believed to be appropriate for the conduct. Those charges were ultimately dismissed. The Office of the Attorney General appealed the suppression of certain evidence supporting the original charges.
The Piazza family was instrumental in the Pennsylvania legislature passing the Timothy Piazza Anti–Hazing Law, which includes a felony-graded offense when serious injury or death results.
Had that statute been in place at the time of the 2017 incident, Henry said, the defendants could have been subjected to harsher penalties.