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A judge has dismissed conspiracy and kidnapping charges against five Massachusetts college students who were accused of plotting to lure a man to their campus through a dating app and then seizing him as part of a “Catch a Predator” trend on social media.
The Assumption University students, all teenagers, were arraigned in January and entered not guilty pleas. Since then, their lawyers had filed motions seeking to dismiss the charges, saying authorities lacked probable cause to believe they committed crimes.
Following a hearing last month, a Worcester District Court judge on Tuesday dismissed the conspiracy and kidnapping charges against Kelsy Brainard, Easton Randall, Kevin Carroll, Isabella Trudeau and Joaquin Smith. It wasn’t immediately known if charges were still pending against a sixth student, whose case was being handled in juvenile court.
Police say Brainard’s Tinder account was used to lure the man to the private, Roman Catholic university in Worcester last October and that the encounter was caught on video.
Kidnapping and conspiracy charges are dropped against college students in ‘Catch a Predator’ fad
A judge has dismissed conspiracy and kidnapping charges against five Massachusetts college students who were accused of plotting to lure a man to their campus through a dating app and then seizing him as part of a “Catch a Predator” trend on social media.


