While insisting criminal charges aren’t warranted at this point, Centre County District Attorney Bernie Cantorna didn’t completely close the door Thursday on his investigation into allegations of brutal hazing on Penn State’s football team.

Cantorna gave that sign in a statement he released in response to a federal civil rights lawsuit filed this week by former Nittany Lion player Isaiah Humphries. Humphries is claiming Coach James Franklin and his staff ignored complaints about sexually-oriented hazing of junior players by veterans.

Cantorna said his office doesn’t usually comment publicly on active investigations or on probes that don’t result in criminal charges. He said he was making an exception given the accusations in Humphries’ suit, which Penn State officials have denied.

The DA said that last April his office received a report “alleging that serious crimes of a sexual nature had occurred in the Lasch building” on Penn State’s campus. Witnesses were interviewed by police, “along with other university students and staff,” he said.

Cantorna told PennLive that his office participated in the investigation. A call to the ChildLine mandated statewide child protective services program got his office involved from the very beginning, he said.

“Our office coordinated with investigators from day one,” Cantorna said.

He also noted that his office served as an independent party to review the facts of the case.

“My office works independently from Penn State police," he said.

With information that has been generated to date, "the investigation does not substantiate the serious allegations made,” Cantorna said. “What I mean by that is the evidence to date does not meet the high threshold necessary to file criminal charges and prove them beyond a reasonable doubt.”

He didn’t say the probe is closed, though. Cantorna said anyone with more information on the allegations can contact his office at 814-355-6735.

Jim Piazza, whose son Tim died after hazing at a Penn State fraternity in 2017, said finding proof can be difficult in hazing cases.

"I sincerely hope these allegations are not true but after more than two years traveling the country talking about hazing issues at numerous universities, I have found where there is smoke, there is often fire. I do think Penn State has taken this issue much more seriously over the past several years and has worked closely with us in trying to make improvements both locally and nationally. However, the challenges often faced in these investigations is that no one is willing to talk.

“In Tim’s case there was video proof,” he said, referring to surveillance video inside the former Beta Theta Pi house that detailed frat brothers feeding his son 18 drinks in 82 minutes. But “if no one talks, there is oftentimes insufficient evidence to prosecute, which is why the more detailed facts do not come out until there is a civil lawsuit which allows time for a more meaningful and robust investigation. We have heard time and time again that universities are frustrated when there are allegations because no one is willing to share information, including the victims in some cases.”

Staff Writer Christine Vendel contributed to this article.

READ: Penn State didn’t report football player’s hazing allegations, but should it have under state law?