Massachusetts State Police in October charged five Assumption College students with ambushing, chasing and falsely accusing soldiers of being sex offenders.
Police claimed the five suspects lured the 22-year-old victim to campus with the intention of setting him up as a sexual predator looking for underage victims (WCVB 5) reported. Police said the students were inspired by the TV series “To Catch a Predator” and the recent TikTok trend of people imitating the show. (Related: Influencer allegedly uploaded video of herself stealing from target shoplifted from same location, police say)
One of the students, 18-year-old Kelsey Brainard, allegedly messaged the victim on a dating app. Police said their messages turned sexual and her friend orchestrated the plot. According to court documents citing campus video footage, Brainard took the man to a basement lounge where they watched television together. Afterwards, about 30 students approached the man.
Police said the group temporarily prevented the soldiers from escaping, and one underage student assaulted the soldiers. Mr Brainard is said to be seen laughing in the video before fleeing. The mob followed the man to his car, at which point police said 18-year-old Kevin Carroll used the car door to assault the victim.
Students charged in TikTok-inspired 'catch-a-predator' ambush | Click image to read full story https://t.co/7vn3q9Fjht
— WCVB-TV Boston (@WCVB) January 2, 2025
The soldier alerted police, who began a months-long investigation into the incident. Authorities charged Carroll with assault and battery. Brainard was charged with intimidation for misleading law enforcement. Authorities charged the two men, along with Isabella Trudeau, 18, Joaquin Smith, 18, and Easton Randall, 19, with kidnapping and conspiracy.
Police said there was no evidence the soldiers were searching for underage girls.
Assumption University Police said, “An examination of Tinder messages shared by Mr. Brainerd and the victim ruled out any indication that the subject was looking for an underage girl with whom he had not met.'' The information he provided was not true and was fabricated.” I'll lie. ”
Assumption University said in a statement: “Our public safety team, in coordination with other university departments, launched an immediate and thorough investigation, with victims' concerns at the forefront, resulting in the death of the students. I ended up filing a complaint.”
“I had seen things like that on social media, but I never imagined it would happen at my school, but, uh, I’ve never heard of that before,” said a first-year college student. Tiger Ann said.
The soldier's father said his son was sent overseas a few days after the incident and is still on active duty in the Army.
