Twelve students at Maryland’s Salisbury University have been charged with hate crimes after they allegedly targeted a man on Grindr, lured him to an apartment and savagely beat him in a sick anti-gay attack, cops said.
The students — all associated with the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity — are accused of creating a fake profile on the dating app so they could target the unidentified victim because of his “sexual orientation,” the Salisbury Police Department said.
They then posed as a 16-year-old boy — the age of consent in Maryland — to convince the victim to come to an off-campus apartment on Oct. 15 under “false pretenses,” police said.
Once he was inside, the group surrounded the man and forced him to sit on a chair in the middle of the living room, according to cops.
“After being forcefully seated, the victim was kicked, punched, and spit on while the men called the victim derogatory names,” police said in a statement, adding the alleged attack lasted several minutes.
At least one student, who was wearing a Salisbury University hoodie, hit the victim multiple times with a cooking sheet, WJZ reported, citing charging documents.
The victim told investigators he repeatedly tried to flee but was tossed to the floor each time.
After eventually being allowed to leave the apartment, the victim was treated for his injuries — including a broken rib and bruising across his body.
Cops were only made aware of the incident after two people reported that one of the men had shown them a video of part of the alleged assault, the charging docs state.
The dozen men charged are Bennan Aird, 18, Ryder Baker, 20, Riley Brister, 20, Cruz Cespedes, 19, Dylan Earp, 20, Elijah Johnson, 19, Zachary Leinemann, 18, Patrick Gutierrez, 19, Cameron Guy, 18, Jacob Howard, 19, Dylan Pietuszka, 20, and Eric Sinclair, 21.
In addition to the hate crime charges, the students were slapped with assault, false imprisonment and reckless endangerment counts.
Police haven’t disclosed how old the victim is, if he is associated with the college or if he knew his alleged attackers.
A Salisbury University spokesperson said the students allegedly involved had all been suspended as the police probe unfolds.
“Salisbury University condemns all acts of violence,” they said in a statement.
“Any student who commits an act of violence can expect to face criminal charges, as well as disciplinary action under SU’s Student Code of Community Standards. The crimes described are in direct conflict with Salisbury University’s values and what we stand for.”
“Hate has no place at SU,” the spokesperson added.
