Fifteen 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 lured him to an off-campus apartment, where they they knocked, police said.

Police say a man was invited “under false pretenses” to an apartment in Salisbury, where a group of men immediately surrounded him at the entrance, forced him into a living room chair and then began -hit him, punch him and spit while calling him. derogatory names, police said.

The students, all males between the ages of 18 and 21, were charged with first-degree assault, false imprisonment, reckless endangerment and related felonies in connection with the Oct. 15 incident, Salisbury Police Department said this month in the news ISSUED.

“An investigation revealed that the victim was targeted because of his sexual preferences,” Salisbury police said. The police analyzed videos of the incident – recorded without the victim’s consent – from one of the defendants’ phones, charging documents obtained by CNN affiliate WJZ show.

All 15 suspects have been suspended from Salisbury University, with some also being expelled from their fraternity, the institutions said.

However, lawyers for two of the suspects said more details would make it clear the incident was unrelated to the victim’s sexual orientation.

“Let me be clear — this is not a hate crime,” attorney Steve Rakow said last week in a statement, adding that his client plans to plead not guilty.

Hate crimes against the LGBTQ community were on the rise, with 2,402 reported incidents in 2023 related to the victim’s sexual orientation, up from 1,947 the previous year, an FBI. annual report shows released in September.

In the Maryland incident, one of the men accused met the victim on the LGBTQ dating app Grindr, pretended to be 16 and set up a meeting “for the purpose of having sex,” according to charging documents. The legal age of consent in Maryland he is 16 years old.

When the victim entered the apartment and closed the door, one of the students yelled “YEE YEE” and about 15 college-aged men emerged from the bedrooms and assaulted him while using a homophobic slur, among other derogatory terms , to refer to it. , the police claim.

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

The alleged fight, which lasted about five to six minutes, came to light after two witnesses reported to university police on Oct. 29 that one of the defendants showed them a video of the assault, according to the document. University police then contacted the Salisbury Police Department.

Cell phone videos taken from a defendant’s phone led police to the victim and possibly additional suspects, according to the document.

However, there are facts and details about the incident that the public has yet to see, said Rakow, the defense attorney.

“Once all the facts come out, this case will be shown to be a baseless attempt to expose someone who wants to travel to have sex with a 16-year-old child,” said the lawyer for another suspect, James L. Britt said The Baltimore Banner.

John K. Phoebus, an attorney representing another suspect, declined to comment.

A student arrested Nov. 7 by Howard County Police has a preliminary hearing scheduled for Dec. 5 in the case, according to court records. A preliminary hearing for at least one other defendant is set for Dec. 6, Rakow said.

CNN has reached out to Salisbury police for further comment, as well as attorneys for some of the defendants.

Suspended students

The alleged attack is “truly horrifying,” Salisbury University President Carolyn Ringer Lepre said in a statement to the student body.

“Acts of violence against LGBTQ+ and allied communities are not only destructive, but are inconsistent with the principles of community, respect and belonging that bind us together as a university,” Lepre said. “These actions do not reflect the SU I know and love. A place where everyone should feel safe and free from harm. A place where violence is unacceptable.”

All 15 students arrested were suspended university and its spokesperson said. “This includes being restricted from campus and not being able to attend academic classes either in person or virtually.”

Some of those students were members of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity, which was suspended, university said.

The fraternity expelled the members involved after learning of the allegations and reviewing the circumstances surrounding the incident, the statement said.

“The actions of these individuals do not align with the values ​​of our organization,” the fraternity said in a statement. “Sigma Alpha Epsilon condemns hatred and violence in any form, and we are disappointed that members of our chapter were involved in such an act.”

Sigma Alpha Epsilon did not identify those who were expelled from the fraternity.

Grindr is “ready to cooperate with law enforcement requests to support their investigation,” the dating app told CNN in a statement.

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

LGBTQ+ advocacy group PFLAG Salisbury was “horrified and dismayed” after learning of the “bias-motivated attack” against a member of the LGBTQIA+ community, it said in a statement.

“PFLAG recognizes that the effects of this deliberate, premeditated act that targeted an individual based on their sexual orientation will ripple across Salisbury University’s campus, the Lower Shore, and the state of Maryland, reigniting and increasing collective anxiety and suffering,” the organization said. said in a statement.

This story has been updated with additional information.

CNN’s Nic F. Anderson, Maria Aguilar Prieto and Dalia Faheid contributed to this report.

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