Twelve male students at Salisbury University in Maryland were arrested on hate crime charges after allegedly targeting a man on a dating app and luring him to an off-campus apartment where they attacked him, Salisbury Police announced.
Ryder Baker, 20, Bennan Aird, 18, Riley Brister, 20, Cruz Cespedes, 19, Dylan Earp, 20, Elijah Johnson, 19, and Zachary Leinemann, 19, were the first set of students charged with first-degree assault, false imprisonment and reckless endangerment in the attack of a unnamed victim on Oct. 15, according to the police announcement. They are also all facing hate crime charges.
On Thursday, authorities announced that five more students had been charged with the same misdemeanor crimes, identifying them as Cameron Guy, 18, Jacob Howard, 19, Eric Sinclair, 21, Patrick Gutierrez, 19, and Dylan Pietuszka, 20.
All 12 students are members of or “associated with” a fraternity at the university, according to police.
A spokesperson for the university told HuffPost in an email that the fraternity, Sigma Alpha Epsilon, has been placed on suspension and the students accused of assault were also placed on interim suspension.
According to the school’s website, Sigma Alpha Epsilon welcomed 13 new members into their 43-member organization this year.
Police say Leinemann initially contacted the victim on Grindr, a popular dating app used by LGBTQ+ individuals, while posing as a 16-year-old, according to charging documents obtained by CBS affiliate WBOC. Leinemann then allegedly lured him to the apartment on Oct. 15 with the promise of sex. The age of sexual consent in Maryland is 16.
Leinemann’s attorney, James L. Britt, told HuffPost in an email that the alleged victim is in his 40s.
The victim was ambushed by at least 15 men when he entered the apartment, and was forced to sit in a chair in the middle of the living room, according to WBOC. The men attacked the victim while also spitting on him and calling him derogatory names.
Charging documents cited by FOX affiliate WBFF alleged the assault was recorded and the victim was forced to read a handwritten weather report while being slapped, punched, kicked, and spat on.
Police said the victim made multiple attempts to leave the apartment, but was thrown to the floor after every attempt, according to the announcement. The men assaulted the victim for several minutes before allowing him to leave. The victim sustained several injuries including bruises and a broken rib.
According to WBFF, authorities were not informed about the incident until two individuals who saw one of the videos reported the attack to campus police. The videos were later recovered by detectives.
Salisbury police said they were contacted by campus police about the assault on Oct. 31. Detectives determined that the victim was targeted due to his sexual orientation.
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Carolyn Ringer Lepre, the university’s president, issued a statement on Wednesday, saying “acts of violence towards LGBTQ+ and Ally communities are not only destructive but at odds with the principles of community, respect and belonging that bind us together as a university.”
She wrote, “In my more than two years at SU, I have grown to cherish the warmth, compassion, and acceptance that define this community we’ve built together. These actions do not reflect the SU that I know and love. A place where everyone should feel safe and free from harm. A place where violence is unacceptable.”
