Five students in A Massachusetts Christian College They made their first court appearance Thursday, accused of luring an Army soldier to their campus using a dating app and attacking him in a “To Catch a Predator” trend on TikTok.
Assumption University students were tried Conspiracy and kidnapping Charges were filed in Worcester District Court on Thursday. Automatic not guilty pleas were entered for Easton Randall, 19; Kevin Carroll, 18; Isabella Trudeau, 18; Joaquin Smith, 18; and 18-year-old Kelsey Brainard, whose Tinder account was used to lure the 22-year-old Army soldier.
They are scheduled to appear again on March 28, according to online court records. Charges were also brought against a sixth student, a juvenile.
A relative of the victim told Fox News Digital that the 22-year-old was deployed to the Middle East shortly after the incident. Horrible incident.
College students accused of ambushing US soldier in TikTok scheme to 'catch a predator': Police
Kelsey Brainard leaves court after being arraigned in Worcester District Court in Massachusetts on Thursday, January 16, 2025. Brainard is one of six Assumption University students arrested in connection with the ambush of a U.S. soldier as part of the online “catch the predator” trend. (David McGlynn for Fox News Digital)
He told police the unassuming man was in Worcester for his grandmother's funeral on October 1 before he agreed to meet Brainard on Tinder that evening. The soldier later said Assumption University Police said they “were going to try to communicate” and that he “just wanted to be around happy people” after the funeral service.
Based on messages he exchanged with Brainard on the app and shared with police and Brainard's profile, which indicated she was 18, “there was absolutely no evidence to suggest that (the victim) was seeking sexual relations with underage girls.” “Using Tinder as it was originally designed…to initiate a hookup,” police wrote in charging documents obtained by Fox News Digital.
A “club” of 25 to 30 people showed up just minutes after the victim met Brainard, describing him as a “pedophile” who “likes to have sex with 17-year-old girls.” Before he was cornered, the victim was sitting next to Brainard watching a game in the student lounge, and surveillance footage showed that they had “ample personal space between them,” and Brainard was “laughing and smiling.”
Isabella Trudeau was arraigned in Worcester District Court in Massachusetts on Thursday, January 16, 2025. Trudeau is one of six Assumption University students arrested in connection with the ambush of a US soldier as part of the online “catch the predator” trend. (David McGlynn for Fox News Digital)
Surveillance footage showed the group encircling the victim and preventing him from leaving around 10:30 p.m., police wrote. The victim managed to break free, but was chased by “the crowd who could clearly be seen using their phones to record the chase.”
Police said the soldier was punched in the back of the head by a juvenile student who was not named in court documents because of his age. Carroll then slammed the victim's head into his car door, according to court documents, and the students kicked the victim's car as he exited the parking lot.
Carroll faces an additional charge of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, according to court documents.
Joaquin Smith leaves court after being arraigned in Worcester District Court in Massachusetts on Thursday, January 16, 2025. Smith is one of six Assumption University students arrested in connection with the ambush of a US soldier as part of the online “catch the predator” trend. (David McGlynn for Fox News Digital)
A few minutes later, the group can be seen on surveillance footage entering the building, laughing and shaking hands with each other, police wrote.
Campus Police She became aware of the incident after Brainard reported “a creepy man came to campus looking to meet an underage girl.” She said she texted Randall, who “came down (to the lounge) to help her deal with a sexual predator.”
La Maison Francaise on the Assumption University campus, where a 22-year-old soldier was allegedly lured via Tinder and attacked by students on October 1. (Rick Sinclair/Telegram & Gazette/USA Today Network via Imagen Images)
Although she said she met the “creepy” man on Tinder, she claimed he “came (to campus) uninvited.”
Campus police were unable to find the alleged predator on campus, but began reviewing security footage and interviewing students after Worcester police contacted them about a man who reported an assault at Assumption University.
Kevin Carroll was arraigned in Worcester District Court in Massachusetts on Thursday, January 16, 2025. Carroll is one of six Assumption University students arrested in connection with the ambush of a US soldier as part of the “Catch a Predator” online trend. He faces an additional charge for allegedly slamming the victim's head into his car door. (David McGlynn for Fox News Digital)
Further investigation revealed that “a small subset of the larger group” — the students now facing criminal charges — “conspired with each other to lure the victim to the property and seek help to ‘catch the predator’ via group text messages.”
“The Tinder invitation was intended to mimic the TikTok trend of luring a sexual predator to a location and then physically assaulting him or calling the police,” according to court documents.
The accused students were all sitting together as Brainard sent Tinder messages back and forth with the victim “that's when the idea of Catch a Predator came to mind,” Randall later told police.
Easton Randall was arraigned in Worcester District Court in Massachusetts on Thursday, January 16, 2025. Randall is one of six Assumption University students arrested in connection with the ambush of a US soldier as part of the online “catch the predator” trend. (David McGlynn for Fox News Digital)
“They all made suggestions and agreed to what was sent to (the victim) and…others joined the conspiracy knowing about the illegal plan.”
“Catching a Predator was a big thing on TikTok right now, but this has gotten out of hand and gotten bad,” police wrote.
Joaquin Smith was arraigned in Worcester District Court in Massachusetts on Thursday, January 16, 2025. Smith is one of six Assumption University students arrested in connection with the ambush of a US soldier as part of the “Catch a Predator” online trend. (David McGlynn for Fox News Digital)
When the victim came to campus, one of the men texted the group chat that they “(had to) come here” because they were “catching a predator,” which sparked a “quick” reaction from students, according to the court. Records.
Assumption University in Worcester, Massachusetts. (Kristen Peterson/Worcester Telegram & Journal via USA Today Network)
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Brainard downplayed her responsibility, telling campus police she “didn't know what was going to happen” when she encountered the fraud, records show. But police wrote that she was seen laughing and smiling in surveillance footage as male students descended on her Tinder match.
Lawyers representing the six students did not respond to Fox News Digital's requests for comment.
