Rutgers frosh taped having sex feared dead

A Rutgers University student, distraught after being secretly recorded having sex with another man, apparently jumped from a bridge near New York City, leaving behind a wallet containing his driver's license and freshman ID card.

Officials said the wallet belonged to Tyler Clementi, 18, and was found Sept. 22 on the George Washington Bridge. Two witnesses that day reported seeing a person jump from the bridge, which spans the Hudson River connecting North Jersey and Manhattan.

Clementi had posted a final message on his Facebook page the same day: "Jumping off the gw bridge sorry."

His family's attorney, Paul Mainardi, issued a short statement confirming Clementi's suicide.

"Tyler was a fine young man, and a distinguished musician. The family is heartbroken beyond words. They respectfully request that they be given time to grieve," Mainardi said, also on a Facebook posting.

New York City police today recovered a body of a white man clad only in pants, wearing a watch and carrying no identification, according to the Associated Press.

Clementi's car was found on the Jersey side of the bridge, according to the New York Daily News.

Two Rutgers students were accused by Middlesex County prosecutors of cyber-voyeurism in illegally taping Clementi having sex and posting the footage online. Dharun Ravi and Molly Wei, both 18, were charged with invasion of privacy.

According to reports, Ravi was Clementi's roommate in a dorm on the university's New Brunswick campus. On his Twitter account, Ravi wrote about turning on his computer by remote on Sept. 19 to watch Clementi:

"Roommate asked for the room till midnight. I went to molly's room and turned on my webcam. I saw him making out with a dude. Yay."

In a later Twitter posting, he apparently invited others to watch with him:

"Anyone with iChat, I dare you to video chat me between the hours of 9:30 and 12. Yes it's happening again."

iChat allows its users to share live audio and video while instant messaging over computers.

Ravi, of Plainsboro, was released on $25,000 bail Tuesday. Wei, of Princeton, was released on her own recognizance Monday.

A spokesman for Garden State Equality, a gay rights group,

Collecting or viewing sexual images without consent is a fourth-degree crime. Transmitting them is a third-degree crime with a maximum prison term of five years.