It's been seven months since as many as 15 men allegedly cornered Varney Capehart outside a fraternity party in the HUB-Robeson Center, punching and stomping the Philadelphia man, breaking his nose.

It's been seven months since Penn State Police put a Nittany Lion football yearbook in front of the Temple University student and told him to point out the men who attacked him.

Seven months, three arrests and several judges later, Varney Capehart's case is closed - closed without a single serious conviction for an attack one witness described as "placing a steak in the middle of the floor and 15 to 20 Rottweilers going after [it]."

Capehart has come to accept that, Centre County District Attorney Michael Madeira said. The Philadelphia man just wants "to put this behind him as an incident he'd rather forget," the prosecutor said. And by all appearances, Madeira feels the same way.

"I don't think anyone is expecting we'll get anything more from this case," he said Saturday. "Would I have liked to identify all the people involved? Yes. But I know the realities of a situation like that."

The reality of the situation, as Madeira puts it, is that despite eyewitness testimony, clear identification from the victim and recordings from video surveillance cameras in the HUB, there just wasn't enough corroborating evidence to arrest any more than three of the alleged attackers: Penn State linebacker Navorro Bowman and defensive tackles Chris Baker and Phil Taylor.

And despite their seven-month effort and a 14-page criminal complaint, the prosecution failed to make the original felony assault charges against the three players stick, settling one by one for misdemeanor convictions. Taylor and Bowman were the last to accede, pleading guilty to disorderly conduct on Friday and accepting one-year sentences of probation.

Capehart and Penn State will get their recompense: Taylor, Bowman and Baker have been ordered to pay more than $3,000 in restitution, although Baker's payment also covers damages for an earlier off-campus fight in April 2007. Each player will also perform community service.

But what is Madeira left with?

The stinging words of Centre County District Judge Carmine Prestia, who lambasted the police and prosecution for rushing to arrest the players; the condemnation in Internet football forums, labeling the prosecutor as Centre County's own Mike Nifong; and the knowledge that despite the evidence of a beating, despite Capehart's bruised body, a crime committed in open view in Penn State's student union will go largely unpunished.

"Until someone identifies other people, this is all we can do," Madeira said.