04-20-2011, 01:54 PM
A former Rutgers University student was indicted on a hate crime charge on Wednesday after allegedly using a webcam to spy on a male roommate's intimate encounter with another man.
The roommate Tyler Clementi committed suicide shortly afterward in a case that grabbed headlines around the world.
A 15-count indictment was handed out on Wednesday by a Middlesex County grand jury against Dharun Ravi, of Plainsboro, New Jersey, who had already faced invasion of privacy charges along with another student, Molly Wei.
The indictment charges Ravi with bias intimidation, invasion of privacy, witness and evidence tampering, and other charges stemming from the suicide of Tyler Clementi, 18, in September.
Charges against Wei would not be presented to the grand jury 'at this time,' the indictment said.
Clementi jumped off the George Washington Bridge into the Hudson River shortly after Ravi and Wei allegedly used a webcam to spy on his liaison.
Lawyers for Ravi say the webcam stream was viewed on only a single computer and did not show the men having sex.
The indictment says Ravi targeted Clementi and invaded his privacy knowing that he would be intimidated because of his sexual orientation.
The death of Clementi, a promising violinist in his first weeks at college, came amid a string of high-profile suicides of young people who were gay or perceived to be gay.
Partly because of his high-profile death and the circumstances surrounding his suicide, Clementi became a face of the bullying issue.
President Barack Obama and celebrities including talk show host Ellen DeGeneres and sex columnist Dan Savage have spoken publicly about his death and said that young gays and lesbians need to know that life gets better.
Clementi's parents, Jane and Joe Clementi, said they were eager for the case to move forward to 'reinforce the standards of acceptable conduct in our society.'
In a statement they said: 'The grand jury indictment spells out cold and calculated acts against our son Tyler by his former college roommate.
'If these facts are true, as they appear to be, then it is important for our criminal justice system to establish clear accountability under the law.'
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-...z1K5V2Mqe0
The roommate Tyler Clementi committed suicide shortly afterward in a case that grabbed headlines around the world.
A 15-count indictment was handed out on Wednesday by a Middlesex County grand jury against Dharun Ravi, of Plainsboro, New Jersey, who had already faced invasion of privacy charges along with another student, Molly Wei.
The indictment charges Ravi with bias intimidation, invasion of privacy, witness and evidence tampering, and other charges stemming from the suicide of Tyler Clementi, 18, in September.
Charges against Wei would not be presented to the grand jury 'at this time,' the indictment said.
Clementi jumped off the George Washington Bridge into the Hudson River shortly after Ravi and Wei allegedly used a webcam to spy on his liaison.
Lawyers for Ravi say the webcam stream was viewed on only a single computer and did not show the men having sex.
The indictment says Ravi targeted Clementi and invaded his privacy knowing that he would be intimidated because of his sexual orientation.
The death of Clementi, a promising violinist in his first weeks at college, came amid a string of high-profile suicides of young people who were gay or perceived to be gay.
Partly because of his high-profile death and the circumstances surrounding his suicide, Clementi became a face of the bullying issue.
President Barack Obama and celebrities including talk show host Ellen DeGeneres and sex columnist Dan Savage have spoken publicly about his death and said that young gays and lesbians need to know that life gets better.
Clementi's parents, Jane and Joe Clementi, said they were eager for the case to move forward to 'reinforce the standards of acceptable conduct in our society.'
In a statement they said: 'The grand jury indictment spells out cold and calculated acts against our son Tyler by his former college roommate.
'If these facts are true, as they appear to be, then it is important for our criminal justice system to establish clear accountability under the law.'
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-...z1K5V2Mqe0