Six Massachusetts students have been accused of luring an active-duty military member they falsely described as a sexual predator to their campus, where he was chased by a group of more than two dozen people and assaulted, officials said. the authorities.
One of the charged students told police the plot was modeled on “To Catch a Predator,” the discontinued NBC show that, during its three seasons, focused on catching adults looking to prey on minors using undercover cameras and decoys posing as minors. according to a statement of the facts of the case.
“Catching a predator is a big thing on TikTok right now,” student Easton Randall, 19, said in the factual document.
Eleven Illinois teenagers were charged last month in connection with a similar incident that authorities in Mount Prospect, northwest of Chicago, attributed to a “viral social media trend.”
In a statement released at the time, the city police department did not provide additional details about the trend, but Police Chief Michael Eterno implored parents “to take advantage of these incidents as a “an opportunity to talk with their teenagers about the seriousness of active participation in these events.” types of trends they see on social media.
At Assumption University, the private Catholic university in Worcester where the six people charged in the plot are students, there was “absolutely” no evidence that the man the students accused of being a predator had sought to have sex with a minor, the release states.
Yet he was chased by what the statement described as a “mob” of 25 to 30 people – some of whom recorded the pursuit – and trapped in a conspiracy led by a group of six that includes allegations of “ systemic mistreatment, false information.” imprisonment, physical assault and battery, and potential defamation,” according to the university police sergeant who wrote the statement.
Charged with kidnapping and conspiracy
One of the students is identified in the statement as a juvenile and their charges are not included in a criminal complaint filed last month. The five other students, including Randall, were charged with kidnapping and conspiracy, according to the complaint.
Two other students were charged with additional crimes. Kelsy Brainard, 18, was charged with intimidation. Kevin Carroll, 18, was charged with battery with a dangerous weapon.
Messages left with attorneys for Carroll and a second defendant were not returned. A person close to Randall declined to comment. A message left for another defendant at a phone number listed as a relative was not returned, nor was a message sent via Facebook to a profile with Brainard’s name.
In a statement, Assumption University President Greg Weiner said the behavior described in the court filing is “abhorrent and contrary to the mission and values of Assumption University.” In all circumstances, we expect our students to exercise good judgment and uphold the principles of respect, responsibility, and character that define our community.
Once the incident was reported, Weiner said, the school’s public safety department investigated the allegations and initiated criminal charges.
“This situation is particularly worrying because the victim is an active-duty military member,” he said. “His service reminds us of the sacrifices made by those who defend our freedoms, including the opportunity to pursue a college education. »
Reached by phone, the victim’s father told NBC News that his son was 22 years old. He declined to say what branch of the military his son serves in and said it appears authorities are doing their job.
“They are doing their due diligence and these kids appear to have hanged themselves with their own words,” he said.
Reception to attend a funeral
According to the statement of facts, the Oct. 1, 2024, incident was initially reported to university officials the next day, when Brainard said a “creepy” contact from the Tinder app came to campus to meet a 17 year old girl. She texted a friend – Randall – who chased the person away, according to the release.
In a subsequent interview with campus police, Brainard reiterated that claim, saying she was the victim of unsolicited contact, according to the release.
Campus authorities were later connected to the trooper by the Worcester Police Department, who provided a completely different account.
He told campus police he was home attending his grandmother’s funeral and started messaging someone on Tinder because he “just wanted to be with happy people,” according to the press release.
He and Brainard were planning to hook up, he told police, and she invited him to meet at a campus alumni hall, according to the release.
Attacked by a mob
He had been inside the building for a few minutes, the statement said, “when a group of people came out of nowhere and started calling him a pedophile and accusing him of liking 17-year-old girls.” .
“He was unable to leave because he was caught and prevented from leaving,” the statement said. “The subject reported that he was able to break free and ran up the stairs, pursued by a group of 25 or more people.”
He told police he was chased to his car, punched in the head and had his car door slammed, the release states. After he was able to flee the campus, he called police, the release said.
A review of campus security video detailed in the statement confirmed the victim’s account. The video shows students berating the victim as a sexual predator, recording the pursuit as they pursued her, and congratulating each other minutes later after one of the alleged attackers was captured slapping her face. car door on his head, according to the statement.
A review of Tinder messages showed the soldier thought he was meeting an 18-year-old, the release said. The woman’s profile indicated she was 18 years old. When officers asked Brainard where the information about an underage girl came from, the release adds, “she couldn’t answer.”
“Call the police or kick their asses.”
Randall told authorities that after learning Brainard was sending messages to the victim, six students came up with the idea to lure him to campus.
“He reported that it was like the Chris Hansen videos where you catch a predator and either call the police or kick his ass,” the statement said, referring to the “To Catch a” host. Predator.”
The show, which aired between 2004 and 2007, used hidden cameras and people posing as minors in online chat rooms in an effort to lure suspected predators into homes where Hansen would confront them. The program did not tolerate or include any violence.
After a Texas prosecutor who was the subject of one of the show’s investigations committed suicide, his family sued the network for $105 million in 2007. NBC settled the following year for a undisclosed amount and said the matter had been “resolved amicably.”
In his interview with campus police, Randall said he and several others made suggestions about what Brainard should say in his messages to the trooper, the statement said. After luring him to campus, the group then “rallied” others at the college using an alumni group chat – a move that provoked an “enraged response” from dozens of people who participated in the event, according to the release.
Afterward, according to the release, Randall admitted to authorities, “It got out of hand and got bad.” »
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