Prosecutors have dropped hate crime charges against 12 of the 15 Salisbury University students who the police said had lured a person to an off-campus apartment through a dating app and then repeatedly beat and spat on him because of his sexual orientation, according to court records.
The Wicomico County State’s Attorney’s Office said in a statement over the weekend that it had “reviewed the evidence gathered during the course of the investigation and we have charged as appropriate in light of that evidence.”
The Salisbury Police Department initially charged each of the 15 men with first-degree assault and hate crime charges upon their arrest last month, but those charges are no longer listed on Maryland’s court records for 12 of the men arrested. Those 12 still face misdemeanor charges of false imprisonment and second-degree assault, according to court records.
Lawyers for eight of those 12 defendants confirmed that the most serious charges brought against their clients had been dismissed.
Three students still face hate crime charges: Zachary Leinemann, 18, of Crofton, Md.; Elijah Johnson, 19, of Crofton, Md.; and Logan Clark, 19, of Severna Park, Md. David Moore, a lawyer representing Mr. Clark, said his client has a hearing on Thursday and he expects those charges to be dropped. A lawyer for Mr. Leinemann did not respond to requests for comment, and it was unclear if Mr. Johnson had legal representation.
The 12 men who were initially facing hate crime charges that have since been dropped are: Riley Brister, 20, of Davidsonville, Md., Ryder Baker, 20, of Olney, Md.; Bennan Aird, 18, of Milton, Del.; Cruz Cespedes, 19, of Jarrettsville, Md.; Dylan Earp, 20, of Gambrills, Md.; Cameron Guy, 18, of Baltimore; Jacob Howard, 19, of Elkridge, Md.; Eric Sinclair, 21, of Mount Airy, Md.; Patrick Gutierrez, 19, of Salisbury, Md.; Dylan Pietuszka, 20, of Friendship, Md.; Sean Antone, 19, of West Friendship, Md.; and Benjamin Brandenburg, 18, of Glyndon, Md.
The Salisbury University students are accused of using Grindr, a dating application used by gay men, to invite their target to the apartment using a fake account posing as a 16-year-old on Oct. 15, the police said last month in charging documents. Once in the apartment, the men swarmed and forcefully sat that person in a chair in the living room, where they “kicked, punched and spit on” their target “while the men called the victim derogatory names,” the police said in a news release.
The person tried to flee, and the men threw him to the floor, according to the police. After the students assaulted him for several minutes, the person was allowed to leave the apartment and sought medical assistance.
To protect his safety, the authorities did not release the name of the person, who was left bruised and with a broken rib, though the police said he was not a student at Salisbury University.
Steven Rakow, a lawyer for Mr. Brister, said his client had 10 out of 12 charges initially filed against him dismissed, including felony assault, reckless endangerment, conspiracy, and hate crime charges.
“While still serious charges, this never was a hate crime and certainly was never a felony first-degree assault,” he said.
Mr. Rakow said his client maintained his innocence. Mr. Brister’s trial for the remaining charges is set for January.
Thomas J. Maronick Jr., a lawyer for Mr. Guy, called it “absolutely appropriate” for the state’s attorney’s office to dismiss the more serious charges against his client, adding that Mr. Guy maintained his innocence and looked forward to his day in court.
Last month, James L. Britt, who represents Mr. Leinemann, said that the episode was “not a situation wherein the alleged victim was targeted due to his sexual orientation.”
“Once all of the facts see the light of day, this case will be shown to be an ill-advised attempt to expose someone” who was traveling for sex with a teenager, Mr. Britt said.
The age of consent in Maryland is 16.
The university “continues to monitor these cases as the due process of the law takes its course,” said Jason Rhodes, a spokesman for Salisbury University. He added that the students involved in the case remained on interim suspension and that “we remain committed to maintaining safe and welcoming spaces for our students, our employees and the greater community.”
Salisbury University is a four-year public university on Maryland’s Eastern Shore with about 6,200 undergraduate students, according to U.S. News & World Report.
Last month, Carolyn Ringer Lepre, the Salisbury University president, sent an email to the campus community in which she said “acts of violence toward L.G.B.T.Q.+ and ally communities are not only destructive but at odds with the principles of community, respect, and belonging that bind us together as a university.”
On Facebook, photos from a “Non-Violence & Unity Walk” held at the university in light of the attack show people with L.G.B.T.Q. Pride flags and holding hands. The post was captioned: “Together we stand.”
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