UConn fraternity president accused of assaulting new member during initiation hazing

The president of a UConn fraternity is facing charges following an investigation into a hazing incident in February.

David Vallejo, 23, of Willington was recently arrested and charged with disorderly conduct, third-degree assault, third-degree strangulation/suffocation and second-degree unlawful restraint in connection with an alleged assault that took place during the fraternity’s initiation process, according to the Connecticut State Police.

A person went to Troop C in Tolland and asked to speak with a trooper about an alleged assault that happened on Feb. 8 and 9, according to the arrest warrant affidavit.

Troopers learned that the victim was a UConn student. It was alleged that on Feb. 8 and 9 during the initiation process, the victim was assaulted by Vallejo who was head pledge master and president of the fraternity. It was during the initiation process “hazing” happened and the victim was physically assaulted, the warrant affidavit said.

The victim provided details of the incident to state police. According to the victim, on Feb. 8, the fifth day of the initiation process, he and another pledge were picked up at his dorm on the UConn campus by Vallejo, the warrant affidavit said.

The victim told state police Vallejo was driving a Honda Civic and brought the pledges to a house on the Tolland Turnpike in Willington. The victim alleged that they went inside the house and were lined up “military style,” according to the warrant affidavit. The other pledge masters were standing in front of the pledges as the pledges repeated what they were saying, the warrant affidavit said.

The victim alleged that he and another pledge kept making mistakes and were not reciting what they were saying correctly. The pledge masters then told them to get down and do pushups while repeating what they were saying, according to the warrant affidavit.

The victim told state police he started to get exhausted, his arms started giving out and he began falling to the ground, the warrant affidavit said. “Every time one of us would fall to the ground, they would make us restart from the beginning,” the victim said.

At that point, Vallejo started to get angry and was yelling directly at victim because he kept falling to the ground. “I could not do any more pushups,” the victim claimed, according to the warrant affidavit. “He grabbed me by my uniform shirt that I had to wear, and he threw me across the room into wall.”

After that, the victim alleges that Vallejo started to yell at him to “speed it up,” the warrant affidavit said. When he stood up, Vallejo took his right forearm and pressed it against the victim’s throat and started to yell at him.

The victim said he began crying and Vallejo stepped back and told him to go back into a standing position. Vallejo then made the pledges recite the fraternity’s “code,” according to the warrant affidavit.

That night, the victim said that he noticed bruising on his arms, elbows and my kneecaps, the warrant affidavit said.

On Feb. 9, the sixth day of initiation, the victim told state police the pledges were picked up and went back to the house on Tolland Turnpike. He said the pledges were taught new information about the fraternity that they were made to recite, according to the warrant affidavit.

The victim alleged that Vallejo made the pledges get back into a pushup position because they were unable to recite the new information correctly. The victim said he started falling much sooner than the previous night because he was so tired from the night before, the warrant affidavit said. Vallejo allegedly started yelling at the victim saying, “The pain is just an excuse; I know you can do better,” according to the warrant affidavit.

The victim said he could not hold the pushup position because the bruising on his arms and knees was too painful. The victim alleged that Vallejo got mad because he was making noises from the pain and grabbed him and threw him across the room, the warrant affidavit said.

Vallejo then allegedly told the victim he was done with him and that was his last night. Vallejo started to make the victim take off his uniform, but the victim said he refused and said he wasn’t going to quit, according to the warrant affidavit.

The victim alleged that Vallejo then told him to get back into the pushup position and recite the “code” correctly. The victim said Vallejo then pushed him up against the wall and pressed his right forearm into his neck. “After that I took my uniform off, and David talked to me aside from where everyone else was. David was much nicer to me after that,” the victim claimed in the warrant affidavit.

The victim told state police he dropped out of the fraternity on Feb. 10. He said he texted Vallejo and told him he was no longer interested in becoming a member and refused to pay the rest of his initiation fee, according to the warrant affidavit.

On March 21, the victim told state police he gave Vallejo his uniform back and was assaulted again. “I reported this to the UConn Police Department, and I have a case with them because this assault took place on campus,” the victim said, according to the warrant affidavit.

State police reviewed the photographs the victim took of the injuries, and they were consistent with the statement made, the warrant affidavit said.

State police said troopers attempted multiple times to contact another pledge who was present when the assault took place but received no response.

On April 15, state police spoke with Vallejo on the phone and asked him if he could come to the Troop C for an interview. Vallejo stated that he wanted to consult a lawyer, according to the warrant affidavit.

Based on the evidence, state police asked that an arrest warrant be issued. It was granted and on May 3 state police served the arrest warrant on Vallejo. He was taken into custody, processed and released on a $30,000 cash/surety bond. He is due in court on May 21.