Five college students from Assumption University in Worcester, Massachusetts, appeared in court Thursday, accused of luring a man to their campus through a dating app and attacking him in what police say was an attempt to stage a "Catch a Predator" scenario popularized on TikTok.

The students, Kelsy Brainard, 18; Easton Randall, 19; Kevin Carroll, 18; Isabella Trudeau, 18; and Joaquin Smith, 18, were arraigned on charges of conspiracy and kidnapping. A sixth defendant, a juvenile, is facing separate charges. All five defendants entered not-guilty pleas, and they are scheduled to return to court for a pre-trial conference on March 28.

Police say that the victim, a 22-year-old active-duty military service member, was visiting Worcester in October to attend his grandmother's funeral. According to the police report, he was seeking company and turned to Tinder, where he matched with a woman whose profile identified her as 18. She invited him to campus, where she greeted him and led him into a basement lounge. There, a group of students emerged, accusing him of being a pedophile and wanting sex with underage girls.

"The group started calling me a pedophile, and I just didn’t know what was going on," the victim later told police. "Before I knew it, they were chasing me to my car."

The victim managed to break free, but he was chased by the group and assaulted. "I was punched in the head, and my car door was slammed on me as I tried to get away," he said. Surveillance footage from the campus shows the students filming the incident with their phones, laughing and high-fiving, while they continued to accuse him of being a predator.

Randall later told police that the group had been inspired by the “Catch a Predator” trend on TikTok. The group had used the dating app to lure the man to campus, then spread word through their dormitory chat group, claiming they had caught a predator on campus.

After the incident, Brainard falsely reported to police that the man was a sexual predator, claiming that he had arrived uninvited and that she had texted a friend to chase him away. Surveillance footage from the campus, however, contradicted her account. "There was no evidence that he was seeking sexual relations with underage girls," the police report stated. “The whole thing was staged.”

Brainard, who faces an additional charge of witness intimidation, was also accused of trying to silence others involved in the incident. A male student involved in the assault faces an additional charge of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. The group is due back in court for further proceedings.

After the court appearance, attorneys for the defendants remained firm in their defense. Christopher Todd, Brainard’s lawyer, stated, “We’re just looking forward to having the process play out.” Robert Iacovelli, the lawyer for Trudeau, filed a motion seeking dismissal of the charges against her, claiming there was no probable cause for the allegations.

The students were ordered not to have any contact with the victim as they await their next court date in March. The case has drawn attention due to the disturbing trend of internet-driven stunts and the serious criminal charges the students now face. 
 
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