by Alexandra Presta, Anna Lowe, and Madison Anderson
Editors’ Note: This piece discusses sensitive topics that some people might find disturbing.
Asbury freshman Jonathan D. Mitchem, 19, is being held in Jessamine County Detention Center on $50,000 bail following his arrest for solicitation of kidnapping, according to court documents. Mitchem is no longer enrolled at Asbury, the university said in a statement.
According to the Wilmore Police Department, Mitchem, who was a youth ministry major, made comments online about wanting help in planning to kidnap a female student.
The Wilmore Police Department notified Asbury Safety and Security and Mitchem was arrested Jan. 25.
“The appropriate departments acted swiftly and effectively in response to the complaint filed with the Wilmore police ensuring that students remained safe,” said an Asbury spokesperson. “As reported to police, this incident was limited to the specific parties involved confirming there was and is no further threat to campus.”
Specifics surrounding Mitchem’s arrest, including how far the kidnapping plot had progressed, remain unclear. According to a student acquaintance who wishes to remain anonymous, Mitchem began acquiring female students’ Snapchats through an Ignited Class Snapchat group chat the month prior to the start of the fall 2021 semester.
Another student, who asked that we not use her name, said Mitchem privately messaged her. She said he acted “insistent” and “suggestive” and asked if she wanted to play “truth or dare.” She declined. Four other students, who spoke to the Collegian on the condition of anonymity, confirmed similar encounters with Mitchem.
Another source, who knows the defendant, told the Collegian that most of Mitchem’s interactions, which drew the attention of law enforcement, took place on the social media app, Kik, in which “messages are encrypted so much so that it is difficult to track them,” according to the award-winning parental supervision app, FamiSafe. “It enables perpetrators of crimes to walk away freely, and nothing much can be done by law enforcement personnel to bring them to justice.”
The same source said Mitchem had compiled a list of female students he “liked” but who had rejected his past advances.
If this event is triggering or alarming for students, family or community members, the Asbury spokesperson asked students to “reach out to Counseling or Student Life with their concerns.”
Asbury students also received an email from Asbury security on Jan. 31 to download Asbury’s Campus Shield app to “enhance communication between our campus, Switchboard, and Safety & Security staff, and provide helpful information to users.” The app was in the works prior to the Mitchem incident, according to the university.
This is a developing story.
