March 16, 2012
Former Rutgers student Dharun Ravi has been convicted of a hate crime and invasion of privacy in a case involving his use of a webcam to spy on his college roommate kissing another man; his roommate, Tyler Clementi, later committed suicide.
March 16, 2012
Former Rutgers student Dharun Ravi has been convicted of a hate crime and invasion of privacy in a case involving his use of a webcam to spy on his college roommate kissing another man; his roommate, Tyler Clementi, later committed suicide.
A former Rutgers University student accused of using a webcam to spy on his gay roommate's love life has been convicted of bias intimidation and invasion of privacy in a case that exploded into the headlines when the victim of the snooping committed suicide.
Indian-born Dharun Ravi, 20, could face 10 years in prison when he's sentenced on May 21 and be deported after he's finished serving his time. He shook his head slightly after the guilty verdicts were read for all 15 counts, including bias intimidation, a hate crime, and invasion of privacy.
Ravi's former roommate, Tyler Clementi, 18, jumped off the George Washington Bridge on Sept. 22, 2010, after finding out that Ravi saw him kissing another man and appeared to encourage others to watch through a camera on his computer.
The panel deliberated for 10 hours total on Wednesday and Thursday and began anew about 9 a.m. on Friday before announcing around 11 a.m. that it had a verdict.
The seven women and five men on the jury, who appear to range in age from their 20s to 70s, were urged in summations by defense lawyer Steven Altman to dismiss Ravi's actions as those of a foolish child trying to impress others rather than a bully who harbored a prejudice against gays.
Middlesex County Assistant Prosecutor Julia McClure in her closing statement said Ravi's messages about Clementi on Twitter and other social media, including one inviting others to a "viewing party" through a webcam aimed at Clementi's bed after he asked for the room alone, showed his animosity toward his gay roommate.
Clementi checked Ravi's Twitter account 38 times in the two days before he killed himself, the prosecution told the jury.
At a courthouse news conference after the verdict, Clementi's father, Joe, addressed himself to college students and other young people, saying: "You're going to meet a lot of people in your life. Some of these people you may not like. Just because you don't like them doesn't mean you have to work against them."
In a statement issued after the verdict, Rutgers University said: "This sad incident should make us all pause to recognize the
importance of civility and mutual respect in the way we live, work and communicate with others."
The jury found Ravi not guilty on some subparts of some of the charges, but guilty of all 15 counts as a whole.
Before the trial, Ravi and his lawyers had rejected a plea bargain that would have spared him from prison. He would have
gotten probation and 600 hours of community service and would have been given help in avoiding deportation.
Courtesy: AP
