Five Massachusetts college students are facing criminal charges after allegedly luring a soldier to their school’s campus to ambush him in a TikTok trend inspired by the TV show “To Catch a Predator.”The students, who were among a group of nearly 30, invited the 22-year-old man to their campus on October 1 using the dating app Tinder. The man, who is an active-duty service member, had no indication that he was meeting someone underage, as the girl who invited him, 18-year-old Kelsy Brainard, had indicated her age on her dating app profile.
The group of students, including Brainard, 18-year-old Isabella Trudeau, 18-year-old Joaquin Smith, and 19-year-old Easton Randall, allegedly framed the man and confronted him in the student lounge on campus. They blocked him from leaving the lounge, and one student punched him in the back of the head. The man eventually escaped and was chased by the group, with 25 people giving pursuit.
The students, who are all charged with kidnapping and conspiracy, appeared to be working together to orchestrate the ambush. Randall told police that he and his peers were inspired by the popular TV show “To Catch a Predator,” in which the show’s host confronts men who have been lured to a house under false pretenses.
The incident is being investigated by the Assumption University Department of Public Safety, and the students are scheduled to appear in court on January 16. The university’s president has described the incident as “abhorrent and antithetical to our mission and values.”