SALISBURY, MD - A suspended Salisbury University student has been acquitted of all charges in connection to an alleged ambush and assault off-campus late last year.
Benjamin Brandenburg was one of 15 former SU students implicated in an October, 2024 incident in which a student allegedly posed as a 16-year-old to lure an adult man to an off-campus apartment. When the man arrived, a group of students affiliated with Salisbury University fraternity Sigma Alpha Epsilon allegedly held him against his will and attacked him.
The victim would later tell police he was targeted by the group because of his sexuality. All 15 students were suspended from SU.
On May 21, 2025, Benjamin Brandenburg was acquitted of one count of second degree assault and one count of false imprisonment, according to the Circuit Court Clerk's office. Both charges were misdemeanors.
So far, Brandenburg is the only former student connected to the case to be fully acquitted. Ten others have received sentences varying from two days to a year. Two more are awaiting sentencing, while the final two trials are scheduled for August.
A Salisbury University spokesperson tells WBOC that Brandenburg is no longer a student at the school and thus cannot be reinstated, regardless of the acquittal. If he did wish to still attend SU, he would have to apply.
"SU will continue to apply its Student Code of Community Standards in assessing Brandenburg’s behavior in this case," SU Public Relations Director Jason Rhodes tells WBOC. "The University’s process is separate from and uses different standards than those applied in a court of law. Whether a student may be eligible to apply for readmission is dependent on the outcome of the University’s disciplinary process."
You can click here for a full list of the implicated students and their current court statuses.