Metro

Kindergarten teacher among frat members charged with paddling pledge

Where were the adults?!

Two grown men ā€” a Bronx kindergarten teacher and city HR worker, no less ā€” joined in a vicious hazing in the name of their aging college-fraternity chapter, beating a 45-year-old ā€œpledgeā€™ā€™ so badly thź§‹at he landed išŸ“–n the hospital, authorities said Friday.

Brooklyn Omega Psi Phi honchos Steve Liverpool, 47, and Ā­Keston Frank, 34, were charged with assault and hazing in the brutal Dec. 7 beatdown of 45-year-old frat hopeful Tory Gates, ofšŸ—¹ficials said.

LivešŸŒ³rpool, a public school kindergarten teacher,ļ·ŗ has been reassigned to a post away from children following his arrest, according to city Department of Education officials.

His Facebook profile misspells ā€œkindergartenā€ twice; it says ā€œkindergarden.”

Frank works for the cityā€™s Department of Social Servicesā€™ human resources administrationą¼’ ā€”ź¦“ although his Facebook page boasts that he also is employed by the Mayorā€™s Office. He is not, according to the city.

Three other people also were taken into custody and accused of taking ź¦•part in the twisted fraternity ā€œwelcoming ritualā€ ā€”ź¦œ which involved Gates, a ā€œpledge,ā€ or proposed member of the organizationā€™s Brooklyn-based Alpha Ā­Upsilon Chapter, getting punched and then hit hundreds of times with a paddle.

ā€œThe defendants, acting in concert with each other and other Ā­unapprehended individuals, did strike [the victim] about šŸ™ˆthe body, chest and back with defendantsā€™ hands during an initiation ceremony,ā€ authorities charged in the complaint.

ā€œFurther … the defendants, acting in concert with each other, did strike the informant about the buttocks and testicles with a fraternity paddle between 150-200 times.ā€

Gates, who lives in Brooklyn, had to be treated at Mount Sinai Hospital for ā€œswelling, substantial pain and bruisingā€ about his ā€œbuttocks, testicles, chest and backā€ after the incident, the coš•“mplaint said.

Cops said Gates also later suffered from rhabdomyolysis ā€” basically a breakdown of muscle tissue ā€” andšŸŽƒ the loss of the ability to urinate because of the attack.

Liverpool ā€” whose Facebook page includes numerous photos showing his lź¦šove for the ź©µfraternity ā€” was spotted outside his house Friday after being released on his own recognizance.

He refused to commšŸŒƒent beyond telling a reporter, ā€œI donā€™t know what youā€™re talking about.ā€

No ź¦šone was home at an address listed for Frank, and the only phone number associated with him was disconšŸ²nected.

A Department of Social Services rep told The Post, ā€œOur employees must be held to the highš“ƒ²est standard, and we take allegations of misconduct very seriously. Appropriate action will be taken pending the outcome of the criminal matter.ā€

Gates could not be reached.

Chris Oā€™Neal, the lawyer with Omegaā€™s office of the Grand Council, told The Post in a statement: ā€œWhile the external police-led investigation continues, Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. continues to cooperate with the authoriš”‰ties.

ā€œIf true, this situation is outrageous, uncalled for and inconsistent with the founding principles and purpose of our beloved fraternity. Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. doā™es not condone hazing or brutality in membership selection.ā€

Gates is the latest in aā™ long line of pledgš”‰es and Omega members to accuse the organization of improper hazing techniques.

Alumni have come forward over the years to detail alleged horroā™rs that go on inside Omega, which was founded in 1911 at Howard University in Washington, DC, a historically black college.

Additional reporting by Yoav Gonen and Shari Logan