9 Students Sentenced for Anti-Gay Assault

metroweekly.com:

assault of a gay man whom they reportedly lured to a house using the gay dating app Grindr.According to the Cecil Whig newspaper, one of the students, Zachary Leinemann, posed as a 16-year-old boy on the app, seeking to lure a 40-year-old man to an off-campus apartment for a sexual encounter on October 15, 2024.

The age of consent in Maryland, in most cases, is 16 years old.Leinemann and the man allegedly corresponded through first Grindr and then Snapchat to set up an in-person meeting.When the man — whose name has not been revealed — arrived at the apartment, a group of 15 students affiliated with the university’s Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity ambushed and assaulted him.According to court records, the victim suffered a broken rib and multiple bruises.

The victim told police he believed he was targeted for being gay, launching a hate crime investigation. All 15 participants, aged 18 to 21, were initially charged with hate crime and felony assault charges, with some facing other charges.The hate crime charges were dropped in December 2024 after the Wicomico County State’s Attorney’s Office said the evidence did not support pursuing them.

They were later reduced to one count of second-degree assault and one count of false imprisonment, both misdemeanors.According to WBOC, 10 students have pleaded guilty rather than go to trial on the charges against them.