5 more Salisbury students charged after man said he was lured to apartment attack
Five more Salisbury University students have been charged in an alleged attack where a man said he was lured into an apartment and punched, kicked, and spat on because of his "sexual preferences," the Salisbury Police Department said Thursday afternoon .
The latest charges come after seven students were arrested earlier in the week, in an incident law enforcement officials are investigating as a hate crime.
The 12 men, ages 18 to 21, have each been charged with first-degree assault, false imprisonment, reckless endangerment and associated 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 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 that the students have been suspended, as well as the fraternity Sigma Alpha Epsilon, where some of the suspects were members.
Leinemann's attorney said the situation had nothing to do with the victim's sexual orientation.
Attorney James L. Britt said the alleged victim is a man in his 40s who propositioned what he thought was a 16-year-old.
"Once all of the facts see the light of day, this case will be shown to be an ill-advised attempt to expose someone willing to travel to have sexual relations with a 16-year-old child," he wrote in an email.
The injured man, who is identified by name but not age in charging documents, told police he was "lured" by Leinemann to 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 spoke over text message and Snapchat.
He said he traveled to the apartment to have sex, according to charging documents.
"Leinemann did represent himself as a 16 year old, which was confirmed by [the victim] via messaging," an officer wrote.
Leinemann let the man into the apartment and then signaled for more than a dozen individuals to come out of the bedrooms.
The man was slapped, punched, kicked, spat on, hit multiple times in the head with a cooking sheet, shot with a salt gun, doused in water and called a slur and other derogatory names, according to the charging documents.
Police said the man repeatedly tried to flee the apartment but was thrown to the floor. He said he sustained a broken rib and that he believed he was targeted for being gay.
The victim told police he did not tell them about the attack because he had been threatened and feared for his safety.
Police obtained a cellphone video of the incident and located the victim through his license plate, police said.
Steven Rakow, an attorney who represents 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 to the apartment where Brister lives "seeking sex with a 16-year-old," Rakow wrote.
In Maryland, the age of consent is generally 16 years old. There are stricter rules around consent for people in positions of authority, such as a teacher, according to the People's Law Library .
Court records show that the first seven men charged were released on their own recognizance with electronic monitoring. Leinemann and Brister have private attorneys, Aird and Johnson are being 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 is additionally charged with stalking and kidnapping.
Pietuszka remains detained and has a bail review on Nov. 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 message to students, faculty and staff on Thursday, university President Carolyn Ringer Lepre said the community needs to acknowledge the "harm that hate and violence has brought to our community."
"While these crimes were not perpetrated against another student, the thought of this happening to anyone — regardless of the circumstances — is dismaying," she wrote.
