Five more Salisbury University students have been charged in an alleged attack in which a man said he was lured into a flat and punched, kicked and spat on because of his ‘sexual preferences’, the Department by Salisbury Police. said Thursday afternoon.

The latest charges come after seven students were arrested 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 who were 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.

The seven students previously 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 the students were suspended, as well as the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity, where some of the suspects were members.

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

Attorney James L. Britt said the alleged victim is a 40-year-old man who propositioned what he believed to be a 16-year-old boy.

“Once all the facts come to light, this case will prove to be a baseless attempt to expose someone willing to travel to have sex with a 16-year-old,” he wrote in an email .

The injured man, who is identified by name but no age in charging documents, told police he was “lured” by Leinemann into an apartment in the 1400 block of University Terrace in Salisbury on Oct. 15. The man said the two met on the dating app Grindr, then talked via text and Snapchat.

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

“Leinemann represented himself as a 16-year-old, which was confirmed by (the victim) through text messages,” an officer wrote.

Leinemann let the man into the apartment and then motioned more than a dozen people out of the bedrooms.

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

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

The victim told police he did not tell them about the attack because he was threatened and feared for his safety.

Police obtained cellphone video of the incident and located the victim by license plate, police said.

Steven Rakow, an attorney representing Brister, said his client plans to plead not guilty to all charges.

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

The victim in the case showed up at Brister’s apartment “looking for sex with a 16-year-old,” Rakow wrote.

In Maryland, the age of consent is generally 16. There are stricter rules regarding consent for people in positions of authority, such as a teacher, according to the People’s Law Library.

Court records show the first seven men charged were released on their own recognizance with electronic monitoring. Leinemann and Brister have private attorneys, Aird and Johnson are represented by a public defender and the others do not have attorneys listed. Their trials or hearings are scheduled for December.

Three of the five men in the second group were also released on their own recognizance with electronic monitoring, according to online court records. Jacob was released without electronic monitoring and faces additional charges of stalking and kidnapping.

Pietuszka remains in custody and has a bail review on November 8. Like Jacob, he is also charged with stalking and kidnapping.

None of the second group have attorneys listed in online court records.

In an email to students, faculty and staff Thursday, university president Carolyn Ringer Lepre said the community needs to recognize “the harm that hate and violence have brought to our community.”

“Although these crimes were not committed against another student, the thought that this would happen to anyone — regardless of the circumstances — is appalling,” she wrote.