A jury reached their verdict in the Rutgers webcam spying case, finding the accused, Dharun Ravi, 20, guilty of invasion of privacy and a hate crime – although he was found not guilty of bias intimidation.
STORY: Body Found Of Missing Rutgers Student, Tyler Clementi
Ravi could face 10 years in prison.
Ravi is the former Rutgers University student accused of using a webcam to spy on his roommate, Tyler Clementi, while he engaged in an intimate encounter with another man, a case that attracted national attention after Clementi committed suicide.
Jurors deliberated for a little more than 11 hours and reached the verdict shortly before noon.
In September of 2010, Ravi set up a webcam in his dorm and captured his roommate, Clementi, kissing another man, then tweeted about it and excitedly tried to catch Clementi in the act again two days later. About half-dozen students were believed to have seen the live video of the kissing.
Within days, Clementi realized he had been watched and leaped from the George Washington Bridge after posting one last status update on Facebook: “Jumping off the gw bridge, sorry.”
According to testimony, Clementi asked Ravi to leave their room so that he could have a guest. Later, Ravi posted on Twitter: “Roommate asked for the room till midnight. I went into molly’s room and turned on my webcam. I saw him making out with a dude. Yay.”
Two nights later, Clementi asked for the room alone again. This time, Ravi tweeted: “I dare you to video chat me between the hours of 9:30 and 12. Yes, it’s happening again.” Ravi also texted a friend about a planned “viewing party” and, two students said, went to friends’ dorm rooms to show them how to access the feed.
Ravi’s lawyer argued that the college freshman was not motivated by any malice toward gays – a necessary element to prove a hate crime – and that his actions were just those of an immature “kid.”
Ravi was not charged with causing Clementi’s death, and the suicide remained largely in the background at the trial, though some witnesses mentioned it and the jury was told Clementi had taken his life.
Prosecutors were not allowed to argue directly that the spying led to his death; defense lawyers were barred from saying there were other reasons he killed himself.
According to testimony, Clementi submitted a room-change request form and talked to a resident assistant about what happened. He also used his laptop to view Ravi’s Twitter site 38 times in the last two days of his life. Clementi killed himself on Sept. 22. The sentencing date for Ravi is set for May 21.
