College students charged in TikTok-inspired 'catch a predator' plot expected in court Five Massachusetts college students are scheduled to make their first appearances in court Thursday, accused of plotting to lure a man through a dating app into visiting campus last fall and then seizing him as part of a “Catch a Predator” trend on TikTok.
The man — a 22-year-old active-duty military service member — told police that he was in town for his grandmother’s funeral in October and “just wanted to be around people that were happy,” according to a campus police report.
Campus surveillance video shows a large group of students, including the woman, “all with their cellphones out in what seems to be a recording of the whole episode,” the police statement said.
They are seen “laughing and high fiving with each other” in what appeared to be “a deliberately staged event,” and there was no evidence to indicate the man was seeking sexual relations with underage girls, the police report said.
The man told police that he broke free and was chased by at least 25 people to his car, where he was punched in the head and his car door was slammed on him.
