College students appear in court in case stemming from 'Catch a Predator' fad on TikTok
WORCESTER, Mass. — Five Massachusetts college students appeared in court Thursday, 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 TikTok.
WORCESTER, Mass. — Five Massachusetts college students appeared in court Thursday, 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 TikTok.
The Assumption University students, all teenagers, were arraigned on conspiracy and kidnapping charges. Not-guilty pleas were entered for all of them, and they are due back in Worcester District Court on March 28 for a pre-trial conference.
The defendants — Kelsy Brainard, 18; Easton Randall, 19; Kevin Carroll, 18; Isabella Trudeau, 18; and Joaquin Smith, 18 — stood stone-faced in court, showing little emotion and addressing a judge only through attorneys. A sixth defendant was being arraigned separately in juvenile court.
Isabella Trudeau at district court in Worcester, Mass, on Jan. 16, 2025.Robert F. Bukaty / APPolice said Brainard’s Tinder account was used to lure the man to the private, Roman Catholic school in Worcester. She faces an additional charge of witness intimidation. A male student in the group also faces a charge of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.
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 “just wanted to be around people that were happy,” according to a campus police report. So he turned to Tinder, where a woman whose profile said she was 18 invited him over.
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