
The victim claims he was lured via Tinder to a home, where "a group of people came out of nowhere ... started calling him a pedophile" and attacked -- while one suspect allegedly said the stunt was "a big thing on TikTok currently but that this got out of hand and went bad."
Five teenage students from Assumption University in Worcester, Massachusetts accused of using Tinder to orchestrate an attack on a man as part of a viral TikTok trend appeared in court on Thursday.
Kelsy Brainard, 18; Easton Randall, 19; Kevin Carroll, 18; Isabella Trudeau, 18; and Joaquin Smith, 18, all entered not guilty pleas on conspiracy and kidnapping charges stemming from an incident back in December. A sixth student, who has not yet been named, was arraigned separately in juvenile court.
The students were charged last year, after they allegedly hatched a plot inspired by To Catch a Predator.

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View StoryAccording to police, Brainard's Tinder account was the one used to speak with the victim, who's described as being a 22-year-old active-duty military member who said he was in town for a funeral. Brainard's profile, meanwhile, said she was 18.
After Brainard invited the victim over, she allegedly brought him into the basement, where "a group of people came out of nowhere and started calling him a pedophile," while accusing him of liking 17-year-old girls.
The victim said he was surrounded, before being chased by at least 25 people to his car. He said he was punched in the head, then had his car door slammed on him, before he got away and called police.

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View StoryA lot of the alleged attack was caught on video, per the police report, which cited both surveillance footage and "first person perspective videos." The surveillance video reportedly showed the victim being led to a basement lounge, before him running out while being followed by a group of students "all with their cellphones out in what seems to be a recording of the whole episode."
The group was allegedly "laughing and high fiving with each other," with police feeling it was a "deliberately staged event."
Brainard allegedly told police the "creepy" man was a sexual predator who came to campus uninvited. Per authorities, in a second interview, she admitted to lying -- blaming Randall for what happened.
Randall, meanwhile, allegedly told police they were inspired by the "Catch a Predator" trend, which "is big on TikTok" at the moment. He allegedly admitted, "this got out of hand and went bad" -- telling police the group collaboratively came up with how to lure the man to campus, before planning to spread that there was a "predator" in the building through a dorm chat.

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View StoryAccording to authorities, there was no indication in the messages that the victim was looking for anyone underage.
In addition to the conspiracy and kidnapping charges, Brainard was also charged with witness intimidation, while Carroll -- who authorities believe is the one who slammed the car door on the victim -- was also charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.
The group is due back in court on March 28 for a pre-trial hearing.
Brainard's attorney, meanwhile, told AP: "We're just looking forward to having the process play out."
