BLOOMINGTON – A former Indiana University football player accused of kidnapping and robbing a man he met through the dating app Grindr was sentenced to more than two and a half years in prison last Tuesday after accepting a plea agreement.
Da’Shaun Brown pleaded guilty to one count of robbery resulting in bodily injury, a level 3 felony, in exchange for the other remaining charges of armed robbery, robbery resulting in bodily injury, kidnapping while armed with a deadly weapon being dismissed.
The two had met on Grindr’s dating app, and the victim had invited Brown to his Bloomington apartment on April 6, 2022 for consensual sex. Police said Brown wore a face covering “so he could not be identified.”
According to a Bloomington Police Department, the 30-year-old victim said after having sex with Brown, Brown pulled a large knife and threatened to kill him if he didn’t give Brown money.
When the victim showed Brown, there was no cash in his wallet, just credit cards. Brown, armed with the knife, covered the victim’s head with a coat and forced him outside. He said Brown hit him in the face and then forced him into the back seat.
Brown then allegedly drove the victim to a bank ATM and forced him to withdraw cash.
The victim told police Brown drove him back to his apartment, deleted the Grindr app from the victim’s phone, and left.
The victim then called police. Using security camera video from the ATM, police were able to get a description of Brown’s car and his license plate. Police later found the vehicle at a home on Lincoln Street and reported seeing Brown get into the vehicle.
Capt. Ryan Pedigo said Brown answered when detectives armed with a search warrant went to the residence door. A search turned up clothing that matched what the victim had described and three credit cards with the victim’s name on them, police said.
In 2018, Brown was a first-team all-state quarterback at St. Catherine’s High School in Racine, Wisconsin. He was recruited to play at IU as part of the 2019 freshman class and moved to wide receiver. He played in two games in 2020 before tearing a knee ligament during the Hoosiers’ win over Michigan that season. He didn’t play in 2021.
