The first Penn State student has been sentenced for charges connected with the February 2017 hazing death of pledge Timothy Piazza.

Ryan Burke, the “rush chair” of the now-defunct Beta Theta Pi fraternity, on Tuesday was sentenced to three months of house arrest for hazing and alcohol violations. His house arrest will be followed by 27 months probation and 100 hours of community service, The Centre Daily Times reported.

Burke briefly apologized to the Piazza family before receiving his sentence, NBC10 reported.

Chief Deputy Attorney General Brian Zarallo requested a sentence of 30 days in jail, two years probation, and 100 hours of community service but that was denied, The Centre Daily Times report said.

Burke pleaded guilty in June to nine charges, including four counts of hazing, in connection with the death of 19-year-old Piazza. Burke, a Scranton resident, also pleaded guilty to four counts of a misdemeanor alcohol charge, as well as purchasing alcohol as a minor.

Piazza, a Hunterdon County, N.J. native and a Hunderdon Central graduate, died in February 2017 after drinking heavily at a Beta Theta Pi pledge acceptance party then falling down a flight of stairs. No one summoned help until late the next morning, and Piazza died the following day at the hospital.

Burke, who was captured on camera giving alcoholic drinks to the teen in the hours before his death, was the first to concede guilt in the high-profile hazing case that has drawn national attention to Penn State’s Greek culture.

More serious charges of involuntary manslaughter and aggravated assault originally filed by Centre County Prosecutor Stacy Parks Miller against some of the Penn State fraternity brothers, including Burke, were dropped by a Centre County judge.

The case has since been taken over by Attorney General Josh Shapiro, who says his office is committed to “holding responsible individuals accountable for their actions, consistent with the law and the evidence in this case.”

A grand jury report released in the months following Piazza’s death revealed disturbing details into the hours before and after his fall, including that fellow brothers slapped him, poured water on him, and stepped over his limp body.

Video evidence from the scene showed Piazza being served 18 drinks in 82 minutes at various drinking stations before taking a fatal fall down the basement stairs, prosecutors said.

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Image via Timothy Piazza Memorial Foundation

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