The judge dismissed the intrigue and conspiracy charges raised against five University of Massachusetts students who were accused of using a dating app to lure men to campus in a “predator predator” style scheme.
A Worcester District Court judge dismissed the charges against Kelsey Brainard, Isabella Trudeau, Joaquin Smith, Kevin Carroll and Easton Randall on Tuesday. The decision comes after a teenage hypothetical lawyer allegedly filed a motion to dismiss last month, with the prosecutor lacking a probable cause.
Information regarding the status of the sixth student charged as a juvenile was not immediately available.
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Kelsey Braind will be arrested on Thursday, January 16th, 2025 in Worcester District Court, Massachusetts. Braind is one of six hypothetical students arrested in connection with ambushing US soldiers as part of the online trend of “predator predators.” (David McGlynn from Fox News Digital)
“After a fair hearing and due consideration, we are grateful that the court correctly applied the law in this situation,” Brinard's attorney Christopher Todd said in a statement in Fox News Digital.
The Worcester District Attorney's Office declined to request comment from Fox News Digital, citing the pending case in question.
Prosecutors alleged that the group was posing as a 17-year-old woman using Braind's Tinder account and lured an active 22-year-old military member to the university in October.
University student charged with ambushing US soldiers in a tiktox scheme “to catch predators”: police:
Kevin Carroll will be arrested on Thursday, January 16th, 2025 in Worcester District Court, Massachusetts. Carol is one of six hypothetical college students who were arrested for ambushing US soldiers as part of an online trend in “predators.” (David McGlynn from Fox News Digital)
A few minutes after the man arrived at the campus underground lounge, “a group of people came out of nowhere and began calling him a pedophile,” according to a report filed by campus police. The man accused authorities of wanting to have sex with his 17-year-old child as at least 25 people chased him into his car.
The man said he had his head punched and hit the car door.
Todd argued in his allegations that he would dismiss surveillance footage showing that the group chasing the man would not leave him, showing evidence that the group would not leave him, adding that there was no evidence that Brainrad would remain inside the lounge during the incident and that the group had planned to hold the man against his will.
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La Maison Francaise is on the campus of Assuption University, where a 22-year-old soldier was allegedly seduced via Tinder and attacked by students on October 1st. (Rick Cinclair / Telegram & Gazette / USA Today Network via Imagn Images)
After the attack, Randall told officers that the group was inspired by “catching predators.” Trends in Tiktok Police report recruited students through dorm chats, claiming that “predators” were coming to school.
According to Todd, Tinder's conversation between the group and the victim shows that the woman who says she is 17 and 18 is 18 years old. Briinard contacts authorities after the attack and claims the man is a sexual predator, and police find it wrong.
The Assumption University Police Department “fulfil its obligations as a certified law enforcement agency by filing a charge explaining the facts of the case and the elements of the crime under Massachusetts law,” a university spokesperson said. “The district attorney has accepted and charged these charges. All charges in this case, including those still intact, are within the scope of the judicial system that is settled.”
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The department did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Fox News Digital.
Carol is still charged with assault and battery with dangerous weapons, and Braind faces eyewitness threatening charges.
The attorney representing Carroll did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
