Six New England college students allegedly used dating apps to lure active-duty military personnel to campus, where they ambushed them as part of an unusual social media “catch the predator” trend.
The Assumption College teens spoke emotionlessly to a judge Thursday through their attorneys at their arraignment on conspiracy and kidnapping charges.
Kelsey Brainerd, 18, Easton Randall, 19, Kevin Carroll, 18, Isabella Trudeau, 18, and Joaquin Smith, 18, all used Brainerd's Tinder account. He is accused of luring the 22-year-old victim to a private Roman Catholic school 45 miles away. West of Boston in October.
A sixth minor student was charged in juvenile court.
The victim told police he was in the area for his grandmother's funeral and was using the dating app because he “just wanted to be around happy people.”
Brainerd is accused of walking the unidentified military member to a basement lounge, where a group of students emerged, grabbed the victim and tried to leave.
“A group of people came out of nowhere and started calling him a pedophile,” the Associated Press reported, citing a campus police report.
A group of students accused the soldiers of wanting to have sex with 17-year-old girls.
The soldier escaped from the basement but was chased to his car by about 25 people, most of whom are said to have recorded the chase on their cellphones.
One of the students allegedly punched the man in the head.
The victim fled the scene before reporting the assault to police.
Brainard also filed a police report, saying he was scared of a sex offender on campus.
She also claimed that one of her male friends chased after an uninvited guest.
Authorities used surveillance footage to confirm that the man was invited inside by Brainerd before being chased out of the building by a group of students who took out his cellphone.
Students were caught on camera “laughing and high-fiving” each other during what authorities called a “deliberately staged event.”
Investigators disproved all of the students' claims using cellphone videos that were circulated online.
Brainard's Tinder profile indicated she was 18 years old, and there were no messages to prove that the man was seeking sex with a minor.
Randall told police the group came up with the sinister plot after seeing a “catch the predator” trend on social media.
Authorities identified a smaller group of students as those who allegedly planned the “catching the predator” lure. WWLP reported.
The five students are charged with conspiracy and kidnapping.
Brainard was charged with additional charges of intimidation of a witness, and Carroll was charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.
Carroll was identified as the student accused of slamming a man's head into a car door.
The minor was known to police, but the soldier accused him of being the one who hit him.
“We're just looking forward to the process moving forward,” Brainard's attorney, Christopher Todd, said after the hearing.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's lawyer said he was innocent and filed a motion to dismiss the case due to lack of evidence.
All five adult students entered pleas of not guilty.
A pretrial conference is scheduled for March 28th.
with post wire
