Salisbury University students charged with hate crimes after allegedly beating man because of his sexual orientation

CNN
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Twelve students at Salisbury University in Maryland are facing assault and hate crime charges after they allegedly targeted a man “because of his sexual preferences” and took him to an off-campus apartment and beat him, police said.

The students, male students ranging in age from 18 to 21, were charged with first-degree assault, false imprisonment, reckless endangerment and related hate crimes in connection with the Oct. 15 incident. Salisbury Police Department he said in a news release Thursday.

Police say a man was invited to a flat in Salisbury under “false pretenses” when a group of men immediately surrounded him at the entrance, forced him to sit on a chair in the living room and then kicked, punched and spat on him as they searched for him. Police said he was called derogatory names.

According to charging documents, one of the men met the victim on the LGBTQ dating app Grindr, pretended to be 16 years old and set up a date to meet “for the purpose of sexual intercourse.” CNN affiliate WJZ. legal age of consent 16 years old in Maryland.

According to the charge sheet, police reviewed videos of the incident recorded without the victim’s consent from the phone of one of the accused.

Police allege that when the victim entered the apartment and closed the door, one of the students shouted “YES YES” and about 15 college-aged men emerged from their bedroom and attacked her, using a homophobic slur among other derogatory remarks. him.

The victim told police he tried to leave the apartment several times but was “grabbed by multiple people and thrown to the ground,” according to the charging document. Police said the victim was eventually allowed to leave and discovered he had broken ribs and multiple bruises on his body as a result of the attack.

The alleged beating, which lasted approximately five to six minutes, came to light when two witnesses reported to university police on Oct. 29 that one of the defendants had shown them a video of the attack, according to the document. University police then contacted the Salisbury Police Department.

Cellphone videos taken from a defendant’s phone led police to the victim and eventually to other suspects, according to the document.

“An investigation revealed the victim was targeted due to his sexual preferences,” Salisbury Police said.

James L. Britt, an attorney representing one of the suspects, said: Baltimore Poster The incident had nothing to do with the victim’s sexual orientation.

“When all the facts come to light, this case will be revealed as an imprudent attempt to expose someone who was willing to travel to have sexual intercourse with a 16-year-old,” Britt told the Baltimore Banner.

CNN has reached out to Salisbury police and attorneys for some of the defendants for comment on the attorney’s statement.

Salisbury University President Carolyn Ringer Lepre called the alleged attack “truly appalling.” expression to the student community.

“Acts of violence against LGBTQ+ and Ally communities are not only devastating, they contradict the principles of community, respect and belonging that bind us together as a university,” Lepre said.

“These actions do not reflect the SU that I know and love. A place where everyone should feel safe and safe from harm. “A place where violence is unacceptable.”

Arrested students were suspended university in question.

“This includes restricting access to campus and not being able to attend academic classes in person or virtually,” the university said in a statement.

The university said at least some of the students were members of the suspended Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity.

Grindr said in a statement to CNN that it was “prepared to cooperate with law enforcement requests in support of their investigations.”

“Grindr has always taken its role as a connector for the LGBTQ+ community very seriously. “We are aware that in some cases digital platforms like ours are being used to target LGBTQ+ individuals,” a Grindr spokesperson said in an email. “We have a zero-tolerance policy against discrimination, harassment and abusive behavior and work hard to provide a safe and authentic environment that is free of harmful and fake accounts, scammers and bad actors.”

LGBTQ+ advocacy group PFLAG Salisbury said it was “horrified and disheartened” after learning of the “bias-motivated attack” on a member of the LGBTQIA+ community.

“PFLAG recognizes that the effects of this intentional, pre-planned action targeting an individual because of his or her sexual orientation will spread throughout the Salisbury University campus, the Lower Shore, and the State of Maryland, reinvigorating and increasing anxiety and collective distress,” the organization said. he said expression Wednesday.

FBI in September published its annual report Data showing that hate crimes against the LGBTQ community are on the rise shows that the number of recorded incidents related to the victim’s sexual orientation has increased to 2,402 in 2023. This number was 1,947 compared to the previous year.

CNN’s Nic F. Anderson contributed to this report.