Twenty-one members of Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity agreed in a trial held Oct. 30 to a set of conditions put forth by the Forsyth County District Attorney's office that will allow them to avoid criminal convictions in connection with an incident involving the abandonment of a 200-pound pig in Tanglewood Park last April.

As part of a deal with prosecutors, each student will participate in a deferred prosecution program for six months, perform 50 hours of community service at the Forsyth county Animal Shelter, write a 10-page essay on animal cruelty, write a letter of apology to Tanglewood Park, attend a meeting with members of the campus community and pay a court fee within 60 days.

Eighteen of the 21 Sig Ep members refused to comment for this article and three were unavailable for comment.

According to Tim Severo, an assistant district attorney assigned to the Sig Ep's case, a deferred prosecution program is fairly standard. "In essence what happens is you admit responsibility," Severo said. "It's like a contract that says if you do x, y and z, then you can come back and have the court dismiss your case. If not then you come back before the court and they find you guilty."

The charges will be dismissed if all of the requirements are satisfied before April 29 and the students are not charged with any other criminal acts. After April 29, each student may petition the court to have any mention of the criminal charges expunged from their record.

"What these gentlemen showed was an appalling lack of judgment, but the district attorney's office spent a lot of time looking into a fair resolution," Severo said. "We don't condone what happened, but in an ironic twist to this, the pig would've been slaughtered if it hadn't gone to the party. The pig's real happy he got invited to the prom."

The students were charged last spring with abandoning a pig and allowing the animal to run at large ¯ misdemeanors that together have a maximum penalty of 80 days in jail under the state's animal cruelty statutes.

Harold Holmes, an associate vice president and dean of student services, hasn't formed a complete plan for the university's involvement in the Sig Ep's punishment yet. "At this early point it's hard to say," Holmes said. "It would be something orchestrated in such a way to achieve a developmental outcome."

Barbara Cassidy, the director of the Forsyth County Department of Animal Control, said there will be plenty of work for the Sig Eps to do. "We'll have them do some cleaning, yard work and hauling trash," Cassidy said. "We've got a livestock facility they'll muck out."

Cassidy said she thinks the punishment fits the crime. "Without a doubt they committed a crime," she said. "This, as a comprehensive response, is a reasonable punishment for them."

In the suspension handed down in May by Holmes' office, Sig Ep members were regarded as a "probationary group," and could meet for the next two years "exclusively for the purposes of rehabilitation, community service and education."