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Some charges dropped against Assumption students in “To Catch a Predator” case
A Worcester District Court judge dismissed three of the five cases.
A Worcester District Court judge dismissed conspiracy and kidnapping charges against Assumption University students accused of luring a man to campus in a “To Catch a Predator” scheme popular on TikTok.
According to court documents, the cases against Easton Randall, 19; Isabella Trudeau, 18; and Joaquin Smith, 18, were closed Tuesday following the judge’s dismissal.
The judge kept the case against Kelsy Brainard, 18, and Kevin Carroll, 18, open, with Brainard still facing a charge of witness intimidation and Carroll facing a charge of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.
The five students were part of a core group who allegedly orchestrated the staged event.
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The students, arraigned in Worcester District Court on Jan. 16, pleaded not guilty to all charges. It is not clear if charges are pending against a sixth student, whose case is in juvenile court.
Brainard allegedly invited a man to the university campus in Worcester via Tinder on Oct. 1, police said.
The Associated Press reported that the target – a 22-year-old active duty military service member – told police he was in town for his grandmother’s funeral in October and was looking to be around people “that were happy.” He turned to Tinder, where a woman, whose profile said she was 18, invited him over.
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The woman greeted him, led him into a basement lounge, and then within minutes, about 25 to 30 people “came out of nowhere,” called him a “pedophile,” and accused him of wanting to have sex with 17-year-old girls, according to the police report.
The man told police that he broke free, and about 25 people chased after him to his car. At one point, someone reportedly punched him in the head and his car door slammed on him.
The AP reported that a campus surveillance video showed a large group of students, “all with their cellphones out,” recording the incident. The video shows the students “laughing and high fiving with each other” in what appeared to be a “deliberately staged event,” and there was no evidence that the man was seeking sexual relations with underage girls.
Randall told officers they were inspired by TikTok’s “To Catch a Predator” trend.
Christopher Todd, the lawyer representing Brainard, said the judge dropped the two charges because the judge did not find sufficient evidence for probable cause. After reviewing video footage of the incident, the judge determined that it did not rise to the level of conspiracy or kidnapping charges.
“The client and I are pleased the judge applied the law,” Todd said.
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“This was not about fancy lawyers or trying to get a client off,” said Robert Iacovelli, the lawyer representing Trudeau. “The judge applied the law.”
The police made the charges based on assumptions, but, he said, there “just wasn’t enough” evidence.
Brainard and Carroll will return to court May 9 for a status review hearing.
The lawyers of Randall, Smith, and Carroll could not be reached for comment.
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