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Jury: Tyler Clementi's Roommate Guilty Of Invasion Of Privacy, Bias Intimidation
By
Jen Chung
Published Mar 16, 2012
Modified Mar 16, 2012
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By
Jen Chung
Published Mar 16, 2012
Modified Mar 16, 2012
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After deliberating for two days, a NJ jury has found Dharun Ravi guilty of multiple counts of invasion of privacy, against his Rutgers University roommate Tyler Clementi and Clementi's guest, as well as multiple counts of bias intimidation. Here's the breakdown via the Star-Ledger so far —it's complicated because there are charges related to the various instances of spying, but Daily News reporter Christina Boyle sums it, "Jury find 1st time Ravi spied on TC it was by accident.But TC felt intimidated.2nd time Ravi knowingly intimidated TC & TC felt intimidated."
Ravi was charged with multiple counts of invasion of privacy, bias intimidation and hindering apprehension, stemming from the suicide of Clementi. In September 2010, Ravi had set up a webcam in the dorm room he shared with roommate Tyler Clementi and and viewed Clementi and Clementi's guest during intimate encounters, sometimes sharing a link to view the livestream via Twitter. Clementi killed himself by jumping off the George Washington Bridge the day after the third time he was filmed.
Looking at the verdict sheet, Ravi was acquitted of some of the 2nd-degree bias intimidation charges from the September 19 incident, but he was found guilty of 2nd-degree intimidation for the September 21 incident. Ravi was also found guilty of witness tampering (trying to get his friend Molly Wei to tell cops differently from what happened) and tampering with evidence (like deleting his Tweets that mentioned watching Clementi and his guest make out and how he was having a "viewing party").
The prosecution had claimed that Ravi's spying was "malicious" and borne out of hatred of gays, but the defense tried to emphasize that Ravi, who was an 18-year-old freshman at the time (they had only been in school for weeks), acted immaturely, not out of prejudice.
Ravi, who was apparently "stoic" while the verdict was being read, will be sentenced on May 21. The NY Times reports, "The jury of seven women and five men deliberated for about two days, following more than three weeks of testimony. Judge Glenn Berman... told Mr. Ravi’s lawyers they had six weeks to file papers in any appeal. Mr. Ravi’s passport has been surrendered; prosecutors had said he could face possible deportation to his native India."
Tagged
dharun ravi
rutgers
tyler clementi
verdict
webcam spying
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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