5 college students plead not guilty in alleged 'catch a predator' kidnapping plot
Five Massachusetts college students accused of luring a man to their campus through a Tinder account as part of a TikTok "catch a predator" trend, where police say he was then chased by a group of students and assaulted, pleaded not guilty to conspiracy and kidnapping charges Thursday.
The Assumption University students -- Kelsy Brainard, 18; Easton Randall, 19; Kevin Carroll, 18; Isabella Trudeau, 18; and Joaquin Smith, 19 -- were allegedly part of a core group of teens at the private university who concocted the "catch a predator" plot that one of them allegedly admitted to police "got out of hand," according to the criminal complaint.
The victim, an active-duty military member who was in town for a funeral, believed he was meeting an 18-year-old woman at the Worcester campus, police said. But while in a campus basement lounge in early October, he was confronted by a large group of students holding up cellphones in what appeared to be a "deliberately staged event," according to the complaint. He was called a pedophile, prevented from being able to leave and, after breaking free, chased to his car, according to the complaint.
The victim said he was punched in the head and had his car door slammed on him before escaping and calling police, according to the complaint.
The incident was captured on university surveillance footage as well as "first person perspective videos," according to the complaint.
Police said the victim was communicating with Brainard on Tinder and that she initially met him on campus before the confrontation occurred. When interviewed by campus officers about the disturbance on campus and an assault and battery that had been reported to the Worcester Police Department, she allegedly reported that a sexual predator had been on campus and that he came uninvited, though the footage obtained by police determined that report to be "false and fabricated," according to the complaint.
When confronted about the falsification, she allegedly "acknowledged that to be true" and "continued to diminish her responsibility," the complaint stated. She also confirmed to police that her Tinder profile indicates she is 18, according to the complaint.
One of the students charged, Randall, allegedly told police that the core group decided what to message the victim on Tinder and that "the catch a predator is a big thing on TikTok currently but that this got out of hand and went bad," the complaint stated.
The five students were all charged with conspiracy and kidnapping charges. Additionally, Brainard was charged with witness intimidation, and Carroll was charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon for allegedly slamming the car door on the victim.
The students pleaded not guilty to all charges and are due back in court on March 28 for a pre-trial hearing. ABC News has reached out to their attorneys for comment.
Trudeau's attorney filed a motion to dismiss her charges on Thursday, arguing that there is a lack of probable cause to support the complaint.
A sixth Assumption University student who police allege was part of the conspiracy is a juvenile and his name is not being released, according to the complaint.
A spokesperson for the Worcester County District Attorney's Office did not have a comment on the case when contacted by ABC News, saying, "Anything our office has to say about this case, we'll say in open court."
The school's president, Greg Weiner, called the allegations in the complaint "abhorrent and antithetical to Assumption University's mission and values."
"This situation is particularly sobering because the victim is an active-duty military service member. His service reminds us of the sacrifices made by those who defend our freedoms, including the opportunity to pursue a college education," he said in a statement earlier this month.
