Five Massachusetts college students from Assumption University appeared in court Thursday, accused of planning to lure a man to their campus using a dating app and then seizing him as part of a TikTok trend. The students, all teenagers, faced charges of conspiracy and kidnapping and pleaded not guilty. They are due back in court on March 28. The target was a 22-year-old active-duty military service member who was invited to the campus through a Tinder account and was then ambushed by a group who accused him of wanting sex with underage girls. The man was chased, punched, and had his car door slammed on him before escaping.
Campus surveillance video showed a large group of students recording the incident and laughing, indicating it was a planned event. The students were inspired by the “catch a predator” trend on TikTok and shared ideas on how to lure the man to campus. The police found no evidence that the man was seeking relations with minors.
One of the students, Kelsy Brainard, also faced a charge of witness intimidation for falsely reporting the man as a sexual predator. The students were ordered to have no contact with the man and were represented by various attorneys who either stated they were looking forward to the legal process playing out or claimed their clients were innocent. The lawyers for the students sought dismissal of the charges, arguing that there was no probable cause to believe they had committed a crime.
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