Former Rutgers student indicted for bias crimes in webcam-streaming of roommate's tryst

A former Rutgers University student was indicted Wednesday on charges of bias intimidation and invasion of privacy for secretly recording and webcam-streaming his roommate's having a sexual encounter with another man.

The incident attracted national attention and became a cause célèbre in gay rights circles and beyond after the roommate, Tyler Clementi, 18, committed suicide by jumping off the George Washington Bridge days after the secret taping.

Dharun Ravi, 19, of Plainsboro, N.J., was charged in a 15-count indictment handed up by a Middlesex County grand jury and could be sentenced to five to 10 years in jail if convicted of the most serious bias-crime offenses.

Middlesex County Prosecutor Bruce Kaplan said the grand jury found that the taping on Sept. 19 and a second attempted taping on Sept. 21 were "intended to intimidate" Clementi because he was gay.

The indictment was hailed as a step forward by Garden State Equality, an organization that advocates for gay rights.

Steven Goldstein, chairman of the organization, said in a statement released Wednesday that the charges were "in the best interests of justice and in the best interests of students across New Jersey, for their potential bullies will now think harder before demolishing another student's life."

In a statement issued after the indictment was announced, Clementi's family said the charges were "important for our criminal justice system to establish clear accountability under the law. . . . We are eager to have the process move forward for justice in this case and to reinforce the standards of acceptable conduct in our society."

Jane and Joseph Clementi have declined numerous requests for interviews, but have said through their lawyer that they hope to establish a foundation in their son's name aimed at raising awareness about bullying, privacy rights, and the Internet.

In the aftermath of Tyler Clementi's suicide, the incident became the focal point for national discussions about gay-bashing, cyber bullying, intimidation, and privacy rights in the age of social networking.

Clementi, described as a promising violinist, was like Ravi a freshman at Rutgers. The alleged tapings occurred shortly after the start of the new school year in a dorm room he shared with Ravi on the college's Piscataway campus.

Ravi, according to authorities, hid a camera in the room and sent a webcam stream out while Clementi had a sexual encounter with another man. Authorities alleged that Ravi was in the room of another freshman, Molly Wei, and that they used her laptop to complete the transmission.

Wei, 19, was arrested with Ravi on invasion of privacy charges, but the case against her has not been submitted to a grand jury, according to a statement released by the Prosecutor's Office Wednesday.

Her lawyer has argued that she did nothing wrong or improper.

Both Ravi and Wei, of Princeton, withdrew from Rutgers after the incident. Lawyers for the two former students could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

While some supporters have tried to dismiss Ravi's actions as an ill-conceived college prank, others said it underscored gay bias and how the Internet could be used to harass and intimidate.

Dan Savage, a syndicated columnist, launched a campaign called "It Gets Better" in an attempt to garner support for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender youth faced with harassment, intimidation, and a lack of support from friends and family.

The Clementi case was cited as a prime example, although Savage spoke in broader terms, charging at one point that "the religious right has created an antigay climate that gives license to hate."

President Obama was one of several thousand individuals who posted video messages on Savage's website supporting the "It Gets Better" movement. Others who also offered postings included celebrities Neil Patrick Harris, Ellen DeGeneres, and Jewel.

The case was also cited in January when Gov. Christie signed one of the toughest antibullying laws in the country.

The law, which goes into effect at the start of the next school year, establishes guidelines for schools to counteract bullying and intimidation, and sets grounds for suspension and expulsion.

The regulations apply to all public schools in New Jersey and parts of the law also apply to public colleges.

Ravi has been free on $25,000 bail since his arrest in October.

The grand jury indictment charged him with invasion of privacy, bias intimidation, and attempted invasion of privacy.

He was also charged with attempting to hinder the investigation and prosecution by changing and erasing Twitter messages and other transmissions.

Specific details about what was recorded during the taping have never been made public.

In an interview with the Newark Star-Ledger in November, lawyers for Ravi and Wei said the webcam stream had not shown Clementi and the other man having sex.

But the indictment, in the invasion of privacy charge, alleges that Ravi "disclosed a photograph, film, videotape, recording or other reproduction of the image of [Clementi and the man he was meeting with] whose intimate parts were exposed or who were engaged in an act of sexual penetration or sexual contact without" their consent.

Clementi was identified in the indictment by his initials, T.C. The individual he was with was identified only as M.B.

The indictment also alleged that Ravi made the tape "with the purpose to intimidate" Clementi and the other man because of their "sexual orientation."