{"id":49044,"date":"2025-01-08T21:15:49","date_gmt":"2025-01-08T21:15:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2025\/01\/08\/college-students-charged-in-catch-a-predator-style-ambush-on-soldier\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T04:24:39","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T04:24:39","slug":"college-students-charged-in-catch-a-predator-style-ambush-on-soldier","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/2025\/01\/08\/college-students-charged-in-catch-a-predator-style-ambush-on-soldier\/","title":{"rendered":"College students charged in \u2018Catch a Predator\u2019 style ambush on soldier"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Six Massachusetts college students are accused of assaulting an active-duty soldier who they falsely described as a sexual predator after luring the man to campus via a dating app as part of a TikTok trend inspired by the TV show \u201cTo Catch a Predator.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The 22-year-old \u2014 an active-duty military service member \u2014 told police that he was in town for his grandmother\u2019s funeral in October and began communicating with an Assumption University student whose<a href=\"https:\/\/www.armytimes.com\/news\/your-army\/2022\/06\/14\/army-advisors-in-latin-america-told-to-behave-as-word-of-drinking-tinder-use-and-stds-grew\/\" target=\"_blank\"> Tinder profile <\/a>said she was 18, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/college-students-predator-tiktok-5398cc8d052f7977ffe11bd6cd6638eb\" target=\"_blank\">The Associated Press<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Assumption University student Kelsy Brainard, 18, now faces an intimidation charge for allegedly misleading police.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Four other students \u2014 Kevin Carroll, Isabella Trudeau, Joaquin Smith, all 18, and Easton Randall, 19, who police say helped plan the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.yahoo.com\/news\/college-students-charged-ambushing-us-170515412.html\" target=\"_blank\">alleged ambush<\/a> \u2014 have been charged with kidnapping and conspiracy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The group is scheduled for arraignment on Jan. 16 in Worcester, Massachusetts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A sixth student charged is a juvenile, according to AP.<\/p>\n\n\n<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link smg-interstitial-link--fallback wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.armytimes.com\/news\/your-navy\/2022\/09\/14\/virginia-tinder-swindler-who-preyed-on-sailors-pleads-guilty\/?contentFeatureId=f0fmoahPVC2AbfL-2-1-8&#038;contentQuery=%7B%22includeSections%22%3A%22%2Fhome%22%2C%22excludeSections%22%3A%22%22%2C%22feedSize%22%3A10%2C%22feedOffset%22%3A225%7D\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__fallback-link\">Virginia &#039;Tinder Swindler&#039; who preyed on sailors pleads guilty<\/a><\/aside>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Assumption University President Greg Weiner said the behavior described in the court filing \u201cis abhorrent and antithetical to Assumption University\u2019s mission and values.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThis situation is particularly sobering because the victim is an active-duty military service member,\u201d Weiner said in the statement. \u201cHis service reminds us of the sacrifices made by those who defend our freedoms, including the opportunity to pursue a college education.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The soldier told police Brainard invited him over, but when he got there, \u201ca group of people came out of nowhere and started calling him a pedophile,\u201d accusing him of wanting sex with 17-year-old girls, according to a complaint filed by campus police.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The man said people in the group grabbed him, but he broke free and ran while being chased by at least 25 people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He made it to his car, where he said he was punched in the head and his car door was slammed on him, the police statement said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He fled and called the city police.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Police allege campus surveillance video shows Brainard escorting the soldier into a basement lounge, and then him running upstairs, followed by a large group of students, including the woman, \u201call with their cellphones out in what seems to be a recording of the whole episode,\u201d the police statement said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A few minutes later, Brainard and others are seen returning \u201claughing and high fiving with each other.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After the assault, Brainard reported the man to police as a sexual predator and said she was frightened by him. She said he had come to campus uninvited. She also told police he was \u201ccreepy\u201d and that she had texted a male friend who chased the man away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Campus police allege that some of the students conspired to \u201csimulate the TikTok fad of luring a sexual predator to a location and subsequently physically assaulting him or calling the police.\u201d One of those charged mentioned \u201cTo Catch a Predator\u201d host Chris Hansen. The NBC show ran from 2004 to 2007 and involved adults impersonating underage people to catch men who contacted them over the internet for sex.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The student said that \u201ccatch a predator is a big thing on TikTok currently but that this got out of hand and went bad,\u201d according to the police statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In court documents, campus police said they determined Brainard\u2019s version of events was false after reviewing the surveillance recordings and finding that \u201cfirst person perspective videos\u201d were being circulated among students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cA review of Tinder messages shared by Ms. Brainard and the victim is negative for any indication that the subject was looking for underage girls to meet,\u201d Assumption University police told <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wcvb.com\/article\/assumption-students-charged-fake-predator-plot\/63324959\" target=\"_blank\">WCVB <\/a>Channel 5. \u201cThe information Brainard was providing was not factual but falsification and lies.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The soldier\u2019s father told WCVB that his son was deployed overseas within days of the incident.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><i>The Associated Press contributed to this article.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Six Massachusetts students are accused of assaulting a soldier after luring him to campus as part of a TikTok trend.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":88187,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":65,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[12,65],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3405],"class_list":["post-49044","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-your-navy"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"VI7FKEONAVFDPPBZSVPRP7WW34","arc_canonical_url":"\/news\/your-army\/2025\/01\/08\/college-students-charged-in-catch-a-predator-style-ambush-on-soldier\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>College students charged in \u2018Catch a Predator\u2019 style ambush on soldier - Navy Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Six Massachusetts students are accused of assaulting a soldier after luring him to campus as part of a TikTok trend.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"College students charged in \u2018Catch a Predator\u2019 style ambush on soldier\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Six Massachusetts students are accused of assaulting a soldier after luring him to campus as part of a TikTok trend.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/2025\/01\/08\/college-students-charged-in-catch-a-predator-style-ambush-on-soldier\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Navy Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-01-08T21:15:49+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-08T04:24:39+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Todd South\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Todd South\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\n\t    \"@context\": \"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\n\t    \"@graph\": [\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Article\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/news\\\/your-navy\\\/2025\\\/01\\\/08\\\/college-students-charged-in-catch-a-predator-style-ambush-on-soldier\\\/#article\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/news\\\/your-navy\\\/2025\\\/01\\\/08\\\/college-students-charged-in-catch-a-predator-style-ambush-on-soldier\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"author\": {\n\t                \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"headline\": \"College students charged in \u2018Catch a Predator\u2019 style ambush on soldier\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2025-01-08T21:15:49+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-08T04:24:39+00:00\",\n\t            \"mainEntityOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/news\\\/your-navy\\\/2025\\\/01\\\/08\\\/college-students-charged-in-catch-a-predator-style-ambush-on-soldier\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"wordCount\": 632,\n\t            \"commentCount\": 0,\n\t            \"publisher\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/#organization\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/news\\\/your-navy\\\/2025\\\/01\\\/08\\\/college-students-charged-in-catch-a-predator-style-ambush-on-soldier\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/AP23032558448688.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"articleSection\": [\n\t                \"News\",\n\t                \"Your Navy\"\n\t            ],\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"CommentAction\",\n\t                    \"name\": \"Comment\",\n\t                    \"target\": [\n\t                        \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/news\\\/your-navy\\\/2025\\\/01\\\/08\\\/college-students-charged-in-catch-a-predator-style-ambush-on-soldier\\\/#respond\"\n\t                    ]\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebPage\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/news\\\/your-navy\\\/2025\\\/01\\\/08\\\/college-students-charged-in-catch-a-predator-style-ambush-on-soldier\\\/\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/news\\\/your-navy\\\/2025\\\/01\\\/08\\\/college-students-charged-in-catch-a-predator-style-ambush-on-soldier\\\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"College students charged in \u2018Catch a Predator\u2019 style ambush on soldier - Navy Times\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/#website\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"primaryImageOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/news\\\/your-navy\\\/2025\\\/01\\\/08\\\/college-students-charged-in-catch-a-predator-style-ambush-on-soldier\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/news\\\/your-navy\\\/2025\\\/01\\\/08\\\/college-students-charged-in-catch-a-predator-style-ambush-on-soldier\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/AP23032558448688.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2025-01-08T21:15:49+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-08T04:24:39+00:00\",\n\t            \"description\": \"Six Massachusetts students are accused of assaulting a soldier after luring him to campus as part of a TikTok trend.\",\n\t            \"breadcrumb\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/news\\\/your-navy\\\/2025\\\/01\\\/08\\\/college-students-charged-in-catch-a-predator-style-ambush-on-soldier\\\/#breadcrumb\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ReadAction\",\n\t                    \"target\": [\n\t                        \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/news\\\/your-navy\\\/2025\\\/01\\\/08\\\/college-students-charged-in-catch-a-predator-style-ambush-on-soldier\\\/\"\n\t                    ]\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/news\\\/your-navy\\\/2025\\\/01\\\/08\\\/college-students-charged-in-catch-a-predator-style-ambush-on-soldier\\\/#primaryimage\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/AP23032558448688.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/AP23032558448688.jpg.jpg\"\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"BreadcrumbList\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/news\\\/your-navy\\\/2025\\\/01\\\/08\\\/college-students-charged-in-catch-a-predator-style-ambush-on-soldier\\\/#breadcrumb\",\n\t            \"itemListElement\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 1,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Home\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"home\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 2,\n\t                    \"name\": \"News\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/news\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"news\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 3,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Your Navy\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/news\\\/your-navy\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"your-navy\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 4,\n\t                    \"name\": \"College students charged in \u2018Catch a Predator\u2019 style ambush on soldier\"\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebSite\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/#website\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Navy Times\",\n\t            \"description\": \"Independent News For Sailors | Navy Times\",\n\t            \"publisher\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/#organization\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"SearchAction\",\n\t                    \"target\": {\n\t                        \"@type\": \"EntryPoint\",\n\t                        \"urlTemplate\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"\n\t                    },\n\t                    \"query-input\": {\n\t                        \"@type\": \"PropertyValueSpecification\",\n\t                        \"valueRequired\": true,\n\t                        \"valueName\": \"search_term_string\"\n\t                    }\n\t                }\n\t            ],\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\"\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Organization\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/#organization\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Navy Times\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/\",\n\t            \"logo\": {\n\t                \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t                \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\n\t                \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/navy-logo-white.png\",\n\t                \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/navy-logo-white.png\",\n\t                \"caption\": \"Navy Times\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"\n\t            }\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Person\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\",\n\t            \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t                \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec\",\n\t                \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t                \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t                \"caption\": \"migration\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/author\\\/migration\\\/\"\n\t        }\n\t    ]\n\t}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"College students charged in \u2018Catch a Predator\u2019 style ambush on soldier - Navy Times","description":"Six Massachusetts students are accused of assaulting a soldier after luring him to campus as part of a TikTok trend.","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"College students charged in \u2018Catch a Predator\u2019 style ambush on soldier","og_description":"Six Massachusetts students are accused of assaulting a soldier after luring him to campus as part of a TikTok trend.","og_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/2025\/01\/08\/college-students-charged-in-catch-a-predator-style-ambush-on-soldier\/","og_site_name":"Navy Times","article_published_time":"2025-01-08T21:15:49+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-08-08T04:24:39+00:00","author":"Todd South","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Todd South","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/2025\/01\/08\/college-students-charged-in-catch-a-predator-style-ambush-on-soldier\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/2025\/01\/08\/college-students-charged-in-catch-a-predator-style-ambush-on-soldier\/"},"author":{"name":"migration","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1"},"headline":"College students charged in \u2018Catch a Predator\u2019 style ambush on soldier","datePublished":"2025-01-08T21:15:49+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-08T04:24:39+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/2025\/01\/08\/college-students-charged-in-catch-a-predator-style-ambush-on-soldier\/"},"wordCount":632,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/2025\/01\/08\/college-students-charged-in-catch-a-predator-style-ambush-on-soldier\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP23032558448688.jpg.jpg","articleSection":["News","Your Navy"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/2025\/01\/08\/college-students-charged-in-catch-a-predator-style-ambush-on-soldier\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/2025\/01\/08\/college-students-charged-in-catch-a-predator-style-ambush-on-soldier\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/2025\/01\/08\/college-students-charged-in-catch-a-predator-style-ambush-on-soldier\/","name":"College students charged in \u2018Catch a Predator\u2019 style ambush on soldier - Navy Times","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/2025\/01\/08\/college-students-charged-in-catch-a-predator-style-ambush-on-soldier\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/2025\/01\/08\/college-students-charged-in-catch-a-predator-style-ambush-on-soldier\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP23032558448688.jpg.jpg","datePublished":"2025-01-08T21:15:49+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-08T04:24:39+00:00","description":"Six Massachusetts students are accused of assaulting a soldier after luring him to campus as part of a TikTok trend.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/2025\/01\/08\/college-students-charged-in-catch-a-predator-style-ambush-on-soldier\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/2025\/01\/08\/college-students-charged-in-catch-a-predator-style-ambush-on-soldier\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/2025\/01\/08\/college-students-charged-in-catch-a-predator-style-ambush-on-soldier\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP23032558448688.jpg.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP23032558448688.jpg.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/2025\/01\/08\/college-students-charged-in-catch-a-predator-style-ambush-on-soldier\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/","ad_zone":"home"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"News","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/","ad_zone":"news"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Your Navy","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/","ad_zone":"your-navy"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"College students charged in \u2018Catch a Predator\u2019 style ambush on soldier"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/#website","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/","name":"Navy Times","description":"Independent News For Sailors | Navy Times","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/#organization","name":"Navy Times","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/navy-logo-white.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/navy-logo-white.png","caption":"Navy Times"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1","name":"migration","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"migration"},"url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/author\/migration\/"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Navy Times","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes","push-errors":false,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP23032558448688.jpg.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49044","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49044"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49044\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":90945,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49044\/revisions\/90945"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49044"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49044"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49044"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=49044"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}