Salisbury University students, fraternity suspended for involvement in alleged hate crime attack

BALTIMORE -- Salisbury University students and a fraternity have been suspended in the aftermath of an alleged hate crime attack, the school's president announced.

Police said 12 students are accused of a hate crime for an alleged brutal attack on a man because of his sexual orientation. Seven of them were members of the fraternity Sigma Alpha Epsilon, which has been placed on suspension under the University's Code of Student Organization standards.

"Our community is reeling from an act of visceral hate," Salisbury President Carolyn Lepre said. "Acts of violence towards LGBTQ+ 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." 

A suspect allegedly created an account on Grindr, a dating app, and posed as a 16-year-old, luring the victim to an apartment just off the Salisbury University campus for sex, according to charging documents obtained by WJZ.

"Approximately 15 college-aged males appeared from the back bedrooms," the documents state, and within moments, "slapped, punched, kicked and spit" on the victim while yelling an anti-gay slur.

One suspect in a Salisbury University hoodie "[struck the victim] in the head multiple times with a cooking sheet in addition to spitting on [the victim] and calling him [a slur] during the incident," according to the charging documents. 

"The first initial response was heartbreak mixed with outrage. There's no reason something like this should happen just for somebody being who they are," said Mark DeLancey, executive director of Salisbury PFLAG, an organization that advocates for the LGBTQ+ community. 

Police said the victim repeatedly tried to flee the apartment but was thrown to the floor. He was eventually able to escape.

Police identified the seven associated with the fraternity as:

• 20-year-old Ryder Baker of Olney
• 18-year-old Bennan Aird of Milton, Delaware
• 20-year-old Riley Brister of Davidsonville
• 19-year-old Cruz Cespedes of Jarrettsville
• 20-year-old Dylan Earp of Gambrills
• 19-year-old Elijah Johnson of Crofton
• 18-year-old Zachary Leinemann of Crofton

Police identified the five others involved as:

• 18-year-old Cameron Guy of Baltimore
• 19-year-old Jacob Howard of Elkridge
• 21-year-old Eric Sinclair of Mount Airy
• 19-year-old Patrick Gutierrez of Salisbury
• 20-year-old Dylan Pietuszka of Friendship

, has also been suspended.