Five students from Assumption University in Massachusetts are set to appear in court on Thursday, facing allegations related to a scheme in which they are accused of using a dating app to lure a man to their campus last fall. This incident is linked to a trend popularized on TikTok known as “Catch a Predator.”

All of the accused are teenagers from the private, Roman Catholic institution located in Worcester. They will be arraigned in Worcester District Court on charges of conspiracy and kidnapping. One of the accused, a female student who interacted with the man on Tinder, also faces an additional charge of witness intimidation. A male peer is charged with assault and battery using a dangerous weapon, while a sixth individual involved has been charged as a juvenile, with their records kept confidential.

The victim, a 22-year-old active-duty military member, reported to authorities that he was visiting the area for his grandmother’s funeral in October and sought companionship. He had connected with a student on Tinder who identified herself as 18 years old and subsequently invited him to the campus, specifically to a basement lounge.

Shortly after his arrival, the man was allegedly confronted by a group who accused him of being a pedophile, claiming he sought out sexual encounters with underage girls. He recounted a chaotic scene where he managed to escape but not before being pursued by approximately 25 individuals, during which he was attacked and had his car door slammed on him. He fled the scene and contacted local law enforcement.

Footage from campus security cameras captured a large number of students, including the woman, apparently recording the incident with their phones. The police reports indicate this group was seen “laughing and high-fiving,” suggesting that this may have been a calculated event rather than an organic confrontation. The report emphasized that there was no substantiated evidence to support the claims regarding the man’s alleged intentions toward minors.

Following the assault, the 18-year-old woman reported the man to the authorities, labeling him a sexual predator and claiming to be frightened of him, stating he had entered the campus uninvited. However, campus police determined this account to be untrue after examining surveillance footage, which revealed that videos documenting the incident were being circulated among students, contradicting her statement.