Dozen Frat Members, Pledges Charged in 'Horrifying' Assault

A dozen students at Maryland's Salisbury University are facing hate crime charges after allegedly luring and attacking a gay man. The unnamed victim, who is not a student at the school, was lured to an off-campus apartment, where 18-year-old Zachary Leinemann allegedly gave a signal before a swarm of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity brothers and pledges emerged to attack the victim, causing a broken rib and bruises, police say, per the New York Times and the Capital Gazette. The male students, all aged 18 to 20, had used a social media account to get the victim to the apartment on Oct. 15, police say. They forced the man onto a chair, then "kicked, punched and spit on" him while yelling anti-gay slurs, charging documents state. When the victim tried to flee, the men threw him to the floor, police say.

The victim was eventually allowed to leave but didn't immediately go to the police as he was "in fear of his safety due to retaliation and being threatened by the attackers," per charging documents. Salisbury University Police notified city police of the assault on Oct. 31. Salisbury Police detectives say they spoke to witnesses and obtained cell phone video of the attack. They've arrested Leinemann; Eric Sinclair, 21; Riley Brister, 20; Ryder Baker, 20; Dylan Earp, 20; Dylan Pietuszka, 20; Cruz Cespedes, 19; Elijah Johnson, 19; Jacob Howard, 19; Patrick Gutierrez, 19; and Cameron Guy, 18; all of Maryland, as well as Bennan Aird, 18, of Delaware. They're charged with hate crime, assault, false imprisonment, and reckless endangerment.

But Leinemann's lawyer, James Britt, says "this is not a situation wherein the alleged victim was targeted due to his sexual orientation." He says the victim is an adult male who believed he was meeting a 16-year-old boy who'd contacted him through the Grindr dating app, which Leinemann allegedly used under the alias "Mason." "This case will be shown to be an ill-advised attempt to expose someone" who was traveling for sex with a teenager, Britt tells the Times. University President Carolyn Lepre says "the thought of SU students perpetuating crimes of such disturbing nature is truly horrifying." All 12 students are on interim suspension, meaning they aren't permitted on school property. The university has also suspended the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity, per the Gazette. (More hate crime stories.)