Peter Milius — the former Lafayette College student facing child pornography and invasion of privacy charges — was formally arraigned on Sept. 19, according to court records. The formal court hearing will take place on Nov. 19 at 1 p.m.
Matthew Falk, an attorney for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, declined to comment on the arraignment, citing the active nature of the case. Gary Asteak, Milius’ attorney, could not be reached after multiple requests for comment.
A formal arraignment is when the defendant enters their guilty or not guilty plea — it is unclear what Milius’ plea was.
The preliminary hearing in the case, “Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v. Peter Hamilton Milius,” was previously scheduled for June 11 before it was waived. Anna Thompson, a public relations director for the Northampton County District Attorney’s office, wrote in an email that “every case is different” when asked why these hearings are waived.
According to records, the case was moved to the Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas on June 17.
The November hearing will be open to the public, according to Thompson.
It is unknown if or how Lafayette College will be involved in upcoming hearings. A college Public Safety officer was sent to Rubin Hall on Oct. 15 in what was the inciting incident; the officer received reports from the Rubin Hall resident advisor of an invasion of privacy incident. Milius was accused of filming students in the dorm showers.
“My last understanding at this point is we may not be too involved,” Jeff Troxell, the director of Public Safety, said of the college’s involvement in the case. “If they need us, they’ll call our detective to respond to the hearing.”
Milius, who was charged in April, is facing two counts of misdemeanor invasion of privacy without consent and an unrelated felony count of possession of child pornography.
