Salisbury University attack: Hate crime charges dropped against most students

Wicomico County Prosecutors: Assault and hate crime charges dropped against at least 12 of the 15 Salisbury University students charged in the October off-campus attack.

Most of the defendants still face charges of false imprisonment and second-degree assault, with many trials set for late January.

The Wicomico State Attorney’s Office said in a statement to WJZ investigator Mike Hellgren that prosecutors “reviewed the evidence collected during the investigation and brought charges in light of that evidence.”

One of the defendants, 20-year-old Dylan Pietuszka of Elkton, faces more than 50 charges.

Police say the incident, which was captured on video and shared on TikTok, began when Salisbury students used Grindr, a dating app mainly used by gay men, and Snapchat to lure the victim to an apartment. The police said they pretended to be a 16-year-old interested in sexual intercourse with a 40-year-old man.

A now-deleted TikTok video has circulated elsewhere on the internet and shows a group of young men hitting an elderly man with various objects and fists, surrounding him as he sits on a chair.

“You’re not going anywhere,” says one of the aggressors as several men surround and grab the victim, dragging him to the ground. When he tried to get up, the attackers repeatedly punched, punched and kicked him.

Young men repeatedly call an older man an anti-gay slur as well as a “threat to society.”

The age of consent in Maryland is 16.

Steven Rakow, an Ocean City-based attorney for defendant Riley Brister of Davidsonville, said prosecutors told him they plan to drop hate crime charges against his client at Friday’s hearing.

“As far as Riley Brister is concerned, the case comes down to second-degree assault and false imprisonment,” Rakow said. “I think with time and distance from the event, clearer heads have prevailed, and I think the state, at least at this stage, has realized that – and has gotten rid of some of the allegations that it knew it wouldn’t be able to prove.”

Rakow said Brister, 20, “is relieved that he’s not facing felony and hate crime charges, so we’ll see what evidence the state has.”

Rakov maintains it is not a hate crime.

Mark DeLancey, executive director of the Salisbury LGBTQ+ advocacy organization PFLAG, declined to comment on whether the charges were dropped because he did not have full information about Thursday’s court hearings, but he told Hellgren in a telephone interview that it was it is wrong to blame the victim.

In a November interview with WJZ, he said, “There’s no reason for something like this to happen just because someone is who they are.”

Salisbury University organized a unifying event last month on campus.

“We are here to send a very clear message. We will not tolerate violence. We will not tolerate hate,” said Carolyn Lepere, president of the University of Salisbury.

Salisbury University has condemned all acts of hate and suspended students and the university A chapter of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity.

– They are not allowed on campus. They also cannot participate in SU classes either online or virtually and cannot participate in events sponsored by Salisbury University,” school spokesman Jason Rhodes told Hellgren last month.

Rhodes has repeatedly said at the university that there is “no place for hate.”

“These allegations are very shocking and disturbing. We have launched counseling for students who may currently need support, and we have also taken steps to ensure that the LGBTQ community on campus now feels supported,” Rhodes said.

The Brotherhood expelled the students involved in the attack.

“Sigma Alpha Epsilon condemns hatred and violence in any form, and we are disappointed that members of our chapter were involved in such an act,” the suburban Chicago fraternity wrote in a November statement.

Two students, 18-year-old Zachary Leinemann and 19-year-old Elijah Johnson, both of Crofton, still face hate crime charges that have been forwarded to district court, according to a records search.

A preliminary hearing for another defendant, 19-year-old Logan Clark, is scheduled for Dec. 12.

Many of the defendants are from the Baltimore suburbs.

Several trials have been scheduled for January 29, 2025.

“Then we will determine what position we will take, whether the state will submit a settlement offer acceptable to my client, or whether we will go to trial and force the state to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt.” – said Raków.

WJZ is a media partner of The Baltimore Banner. Read the original article Here.