Salisbury University hate crime investigation: Five more students charged

Five more Salisbury University students have been charged in the alleged attack, where the Salisbury Police Department said a man was lured into an apartment, punched, kicked and spit on because of his “sexual preferences.” he said on thursday afternoon.

The latest charges follow the arrest of seven students earlier in the week in an incident that law enforcement is investigating as a hate crime.

The 12 men, ages 18 to 21, were each charged with first-degree assault, false imprisonment, reckless endangerment and related hate crimes, police said.

The five people charged Thursday are: Cameron Guy, 18, of Baltimore; Jacob Howard, 19, of Elkridge; Eric Sinclair, 21, of Mount Airy; Patrick Gutierrez, 19, of Salisbury; and Dylan Pietuszka, 20, of Friendship.

seven students before charged They are: Zachary Leinemann, 18, of Crofton; Ryder Baker, 20, of Olney; Bennan Aird, 18, of Milton, Delaware; Riley Brister, 20, of Davidsonville; Cruz Cespedes, 19, of Jarrettsville; Dylan Earp (20) of Gambrills; and Elijah Johnson, 19, of Crofton.

The university said that the fraternity called Sigma Alpha Epsilon, of which some of the suspects were members as well as the students, was suspended.

Leinemann’s lawyer said the situation had nothing to do with the victim’s sexual orientation.

Attorney James L. Britt said the alleged victim was a man in his 40s who propositioned what he thought was a 16-year-old.

“When all the facts come to light, this case will appear to be an ill-advised attempt to expose someone willing to travel to have sexual intercourse with a 16-year-old,” he wrote in an email.

The injured man, whose name is listed in charging documents but whose age is not stated, told police he was “lured” by Leinemann to an apartment in the 1400 block of University Terrace in Salisbury on Oct. 15. The man said the two met on October 15. They talked via dating app Grindr, then via text message and Snapchat.

The man said he went to the apartment to have sex, according to charging documents.

“Leinemann identified himself as a 16-year-old, which was confirmed by (the victim) via messaging,” an officer wrote.

Leinemann allowed the man into the apartment and then signaled more than a dozen people to leave their bedrooms.

The man was slapped, punched, kicked, spat on, hit in the head multiple times with baking paper, hit with a salt gun, doused in water and called insults and other derogatory names, according to charging documents.

Police said the man repeatedly tried to escape the apartment but was thrown to the ground. He said he suffered a broken rib and believed he was targeted because he was gay.

The victim told police she did not tell them about the attack, saying she was threatened and feared for her safety.

Police said they obtained cellphone video of the incident and located the victim using his license plate.

Steven Rakow, an attorney representing Brister, said his client plans to plead guilty to all charges.

“Let’s be very clear; this was not a hate crime,” Rakow wrote in an email.

Rakow wrote that the victim in the case “came to the apartment where Brister lived to have sex with a 16-year-old boy.”

The age of consent in Maryland is generally 16. There are stricter rules on consent for people in positions of authority, such as teachers. According to the People’s Law Library.

Court records show the first seven people charged were released on their own recognizance through electronic monitoring. Leinemann and Brister have private attorneys, Aird and Johnson are represented by a public defender, and attorneys for the others are not listed. Their trial or hearing will be held in December.

Three of the five people in the second group were released on their own recognizance through electronic monitoring, according to online court records. Jacob was released without electronic monitoring and is also charged with stalking and kidnapping.

Pietuszka remains in custody and is expected to be released on bail on November 8. Like Jacob, he is accused of harassment and kidnapping.

Neither attorney for the latter group is listed in online court records.

In an email message sent to students, faculty and staff Thursday, university President Carolyn Ringer Lepre said the community must recognize “the harm that hate and violence bring to our society.”

“Although these crimes were not committed against another student, the thought of this happening to anyone, regardless of the circumstances, is appalling,” he wrote.