Saturday, January 18, 2025 - Six New England college students have been charged with kidnapping for allegedly using a dating app to lure an active-duty service member to their campus, where they ambushed him as part of ‘To Catch a Predator’ TikTok-inspired plot.
The teenage students from Assumption University appeared
before a judge on Thursday during their arraignment for conspiracy and
kidnapping charges.
Kelsy Brainard, 18, Easton Randall, 19, Kevin Carroll, 18,
Isabella Trudeau, 18, and Joaquin Smith, 18, are accused of using Brainard’s
Tinder account to lure their 22-year-old victim to the private Roman Catholic
school, 45 miles west of Boston, in October. A sixth student, a minor, was
arraigned in juvenile court.
The victim told police he was in the area for his
grandmother’s funeral and was on the dating app because he “just wanted to be
around people that were happy.”'
Brainard is accused of walking the unidentified service
member down to a basement lounge, where a group of students came out and
allegedly grabbed their victim and stopped him from leaving.
“A group of people came out of nowhere and started calling
him a pedophile,” the Associated Press reported, citing a campus police report.
The flock of students accused the soldier of wanting to have
s£x with 17-year-old girls.
The serviceman broke free from the basement but was
allegedly chased back to his car by approximately 25 people, most of whom
recorded the chase with their phones.
One student reportedly punched the man in the head.
The victim fled before calling the cops to report the
assault. Brainard also filed a police report claiming there was a sexual
predator on campus and she was frightened.
She also alleged that one of her male friends chased the
uninvited guest.
Officials used surveillance footage to confirm the man was
invited inside by Brainard before he was chased out of the building by a group
of students with their phones out.
The students were caught on camera “laughing and high-fiving
with each other” in what officials called “a deliberately staged event.”
Investigators used the cellphone videos that had circulated
online to disprove all the students’ claims.
Brainard’s Tinder profile indicated she was 18 and none of
the messages proved the man wanted to have s£x with any minors.
Randall told police the group was inspired to create the
disturbing plot after seeing the “catch a predator” trend on social media.
Officials discovered that a smaller group of students were
the ones who allegedly plotted the “catch a predator” luring, WWLP
reported.
The five students face charges of conspiracy and kidnapping.
Brainard was handed an additional charge for witness
intimidation while Carrol was slapped with assault and battery with a dangerous
weapon. Carrol was identified as the student who was accused of slamming the
man’s head into the car door.
The minor, who is known by police, was accused by the
soldier as the one who punched him.
“We’re just looking forward to having the process play out,”
Brainard’s lawyer, Christopher Todd, said after the hearing.
Trudeau’s lawyer said she is innocent and filed a motion to
dismiss her case because of a lack of evidence.
All five adult students entered not-guilty pleas.
A pre-trial conference is scheduled for March 28.
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