Five college students and a minor allegedly kidnapped a man who was then assaulted by a mob of students because of a TikTok trend.
The students attended Assumption University, a private college in Worcester, Massachusetts, and were part of a group that attempted to "catch a predator," a current TikTok trend, but allegedly told police it "got out of hand," ABC News reported.
Easton Randall, 19, Kevin Carroll, 18, Joaquin Smith, 19, Isabella Trudeau, 18, and Kelsy Brainard, 18, and a minor male whose identity was not released used a Tinder profile to connect with the 22-year-old victim.
The man allegedly met Brainard on campus before moving to a basement lounge where he was confronted by a group of students in a "deliberately staged event," according to ABC News.
The mob called the victim a pedophile and chased him to his car where they allegedly punched him in the head and slammed his car door on him. The alleged assault was captured on "first person perspective videos" as well as the campus security cameras.
The victim, who was communicating with Brainard's profile on the dating app, escaped and contacted law enforcement and told them he believed the woman was 18. Brainard later confirmed that her profile listed her age as 18 years old.
According to ABC News, Brainard reportedly gave a "false and fabricated" statement to police claiming the victim, who was in town for a funeral, showed up on the college campus uninvited.
All five students were charged with conspiracy and kidnapping charges. Brainard was also charged with witness intimidation, and Carroll was charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon for allegedly slamming the car door.
The suspects pleaded not guilty to all charges and will return to court in March for a pre-trial hearing, ABC News reported.
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