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Dharun Ravi, former Rutgers student accused of using a webcam to spy on his roommate's intimate encounter with another man , leaves Middlesex County Court on Friday, Dec. 9, 2011 in New Brunswick, N.J.
The first phase of jury selection began Friday in the trial of a former Rutgers University student accused of using a webcam to spy on his roommate's intimate encounter with another man.
Dharun Ravi, 19, is charged with bias intimidation, invasion of privacy and tampering and hindering prosecution in a case that prompted a national conversation about bullying of gay teens after 18-year-old Tyler Clementi's suicide in September 2010. Ravi faces up to 10 years in prison.
But based on recently released records of texts sent from from Ravi, his defense attorneys are expected to argue he had no ill-will against his roommate, say reports in The New Yorker and The New Jersey Record.
Authorities allege Ravi's inappropriate behavior began before he and Clementi even began school, when he learned who he'd be rooming with his first year at Rutgers. "Found out my roommate is gay," he posted on Twitter in August.
Then on Sept. 19 -- a few days before Clementi killed himself, according to Twitter archives stored by Google, he tweeted again: "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."
("Molly" is Molly Wei, a former high school classmate of Ravi's and also a student at Rutgers, who pleaded guilty to lesser charges and received probation.)
But on Sept. 22, 2010, just minutes after Clementi posted on Facebook that he was going to jump to his death, Ravi texted him, claiming he had no issues with his homosexuality.
"I've known you were gay and I have no problem with it," said a text from Ravi at 8:56 p.m. the day Clementi, of Ridgewood, N.J., committed suicide, according to court documents reported by The Record. "In fact, one of my closest friends is gay and he and I have a very open relationship. I just suspected you were shy about it which is why I never broached the topic. I don’t want your freshman year to be ruined because of a petty misunderstanding. It’s added to my guilt."
'I wanted to make amends'
Authorities say that Ravi used the webcam to spy on his roommate on Sept. 19 — and that he tried to do it again two nights later. The next night, Clementi wrote on Facebook, “Jumping off the gw bridge sorry.” He had been at school for about three weeks at that point.
The first text Ravi sent to Clementi that night, reported The Record, said, "Sunday night when you requested to have someone over I didn’t realize you wanted the room in private. I went to molly’s room and I was showing her how I set up my computer so I can access it from anywhere. I turned on my camera and saw you in the corner of the screen and I immediately closed it.
“I felt uncomfortable and guilty of what happened. Obviously I told people what occurred so they could give me advice. Then Tuesday when you requested the room again, I wanted to make sure what happened Sunday wouldn’t happen again and not to video chat me from 930 to 12. Just in case, I turned my camera away and put my computer to sleep so even if anyone tried it wouldn’t work. I wanted to make amends for Sunday night.”
The texts, however, conflict with the sentiments expressed in archives of Ravi's tweets. A Sept. 21, 2010 tweet read, “Anyone with iChat, I dare you to video chat me between the hours of 9:30 p.m. and midnight. Yes, it’s happening again.”
According to a lengthy New Yorker article examining Clementi and Ravi's interactions, Clementi was aware of Ravi's spying. On Sept. 21, at about 8:30 p.m., Ravi left the dorm room for frisbee practice, The New Yorker reported. Clementi had read the "happening again" tweet. His romantic partner, who has not been identified publicly other than by the the initials "M.B.," was due to arrive, so Clementi went to see the dorm's resident adviser, according to The New Yorker. Clementi told his R.A. about his concerns; his R.A. took the situation seriously, and had Clementi file an official complaint via email, reported The New Yorker.
The following day, Ravi had no classes, and the dorm R.A. visited him in his room while Clementi was in class and spoke with him about the severity of the situation, the New Yorker reported. Ravi was defensive during the conversation, according the R.A.'s account in police reports.
Hours later, when Clementi posted that he was jumping off the George Washington Bridge, Ravi's conciliatory texts starting coming in within five minutes.
Ravi faces 15 charges. The trial is expected to last three to four weeks, reported NJ.com.
On Friday, about 2,000 prospective jurors were summoned, but most had conflicts that would prevent them from serving in a trial expected to last three to four weeks.
More than 200 were brought to the Middlesex County Courthouse to start filling out questionnaires. A few dozen of them were dismissed because of hardships, including one man who said that "emotionally" he didn't belong on the jury. He was excused without being asked to explain further.
Lawyers in the case are scheduled to meet Tuesday to go through the surveys and decide which jurors have conflicts or other reasons that make them ineligible. Those remaining are to be brought back on Wednesday for interviews.
It's not clear when the process will be complete and opening arguments will be held.
This article includes reporting by msnbc.com staff and The Associated Press.
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Leave a Comment:
VILE-10 year minimum-thats what happens when you let dirtbags from a third world country into ours
How do you know that Ravi was "let" into this country from a 3rd world country. Nothing to that effect in the article?
Let's not let racism color our judgement of this dirtbag.
It appears that Ravi is an American born citizen.
Ravi was born in India!
Oh, gee, dude, I have no problem with you - now that I've succeeded in humiliating you and made you a laughingstock.
I totally agree 3rd view. This is even beyond bullying. I am just shocked that anyone would do such a thing to another human being. Poor young man. I wish the school could have helped more. This is awful. This Ravi should have to face the full consequences offered under the law.
My condolences to the young man's family. This should never have happened. Please everybody just leave gay people alone. It is so difficult for them to come out and live a normal life. Please stop the bullying and these hurtful things being done to them. They are frightened and hurting. They need love relationships just as the rest of us do. They also need friends. Don't do this to them, please!
If you can't be a friend - at the very least just leave them alone.
Hope he gets the max. Our technology has come so far that it's sad when people like this dude uses it for the wrong purposes. I hope Clementi can rest in peace.
All counts relate to invasion of privacy, which is appropriate. Once he found out his roommate was going to kill himself he might have felt bad, but it doesn't absolve the invasion of privacy issues.
This is a sad situation all around.
Ment him no ill will after he trashed his roomates life, ya right. I hope the jury sees through that one!
Slate has a more informative article than MSNBC.
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/crime/2012/02
/dharun_ravi_the_rutgers_student_who_spied_on_tyler_clementi_should_accept_the_plea_deal_from_new_jersey_authorities_.2.html
First off, why would they force this kid to room with a homosexual? I'm sure he was uncomfortable with the situation from Day 1, wondering if this guy was sexually attracted to him. Yuck. It's like sending your heterosexual daughter off to college only to find out her roommate is a male. Totally inappropriate. That said, what this kid did was horrible and he should be punished for it.
I missed the part about him being "forced" to room with a homosexual - or that he complained or was uncomfortable about it...sounds to me like the guy thought it was an opportunity to have a good time at someone elses expense.
BetterRightThanWrong
Umm, there's plenty of girls who room with guys, and viceversa, in case you did not know. It doesn't have to mean it's all about having orgies though, especially if there's no attraction. Why must you assume every gay guy is attracted to every man he sees or is assigned to share a room with? Are you attracted to every member of the opposite sex that you see? No? Didn't think so.
Isn't there a way you can ask to switch roomates by saying you just have conflicting personalities or something?
I've had trouble dealing with roommating situations in college and afterwards, not because I'm gay, but because I have had lifelong psychological issues, which included some sexuality aspect, but that wasn't the main part. And when I've had not-so-respectful roommates, it made things worse. I think it's wrong for colleges and universities to charge $$$ for education and leave students destitute, all while offering them such cheap living quarters (probably the primary reason for squeezing multiple students into one apartment)! I think the vast majority live the lowest standard of their lives in college as students, often having to take on paying jobs while attending school. I think everyone should at least be allowed to live in their own individual [dormitory-] or off-campus apartments and co-habitating with roommates should be totally optional/voluntary! Education should be paid for by the state or federal government, and let the students pay for their own apartment and meals with the money they save on tuition! That''s the way it should be! But it's true we're heading toward a society with less and less privacy, thanks to advancing communications technologies, at the same time while no formal education is ever offered on how to get along with your fellow man[student]. Don't rob people and set common standards please
Cyber-bullying has emerged is the growing use of cell phones and electronic media. it involves harassing someone or spreading rumors about an individual through e-mail, chat rooms, text messages, instant messages, or social networking Web sites. This is what happen exactly to Clementi's case. As a parent the most important thing is my child's safety. This blog covers how a mother is dealing with a heartbreaking experience and how you can better protect your kids. This is the link:
two wrongs will never make a right, doing what he did was wrong but no more wrong than being gay
"no more wrong than being gay"? If you're so proud of your offensive opinion, post your whole name.
Terry-428570 is a POS......that's my real name, I'll be waiting for you to come tell me a thing or two big guy! Terry, you are most likely struggling with your own homosexuality. All signs point in that direction. Anybody want to guess how long before Terry comes out?
Terry: Judging someone as you have done here defines YOU not them.
the defendant doesn't sound like a heartless psychopath but was pretty weak...wanted to gain his friends/peers sympathy at his roomates expense. I believe he was not motivated by the direct cause of suffering to a Gay person...just wanted the social gains he could get about the situation. Horribly immature. To be honest, in MY day...I'm 25yrs older...what he did was within the far end of usual bullying behavior. I'm glad it's not tolerated now (regardless of outcome--GLAD the RA responded immediately and took it seriously). Sounds like he didn't even really mind having a Gay roomate, to those of you who feel sorry for him. Today's kids are more casual and openminded...less threatened by that sort of thing but it's still something you can tease about. Probably the kid who killed himself already had been bullied...he couldn't hack any more...I knew what that was like myself at an age a bit younger than him. Not because I was gay, but because I was different in other ways.
to clarify --I think what the kid did was horrible and he drove his roomate to suicide and should be prosecuted, and if all we read is true, convicted for all the charges. I was just saying I don't think he is an evil psychopath unable to be rehabillitated. Prison time might do that.
It seems this guy had issues with his sexuality, it was just a matter of time before he killed himself. He obviously felt his homosexuality was wrong.
How weak minded do you have to be to kill yourself after being bullied? You give up whatever life you would have had by letting the bully win. Man up, face your fears, be strong and show your enemy no weakness.
What that dude did was wrong. He should be punished. But come on, killing yourself is a bit ridiculous.
I would have accidentally spilled some water on that dudes computer as payback for being a jerk.
So, this POS did this TWICE? He deserves the 10 years, but I doubt he'll get it. What a shame.
Conciliatory texts? More like "Oh sh!t, it seems I have driven this guy to suicide. Must do something before it comes back to me! Let me cover my butt so they don't charge me with bullying and put me in jail. Let me act all sympathetic like 'I get him' so that I don't get charged with causing his death. Hopefully they won't see what I posted in my blog some days ago..."
Seriously. How much more self-centered can you be? The concern wasn't about his roommate's possible loss of life or trying to counsel during this hard time (again, brought on by his decision to broadcast his gay roommate in a private moment), but to cover himself from getting into any legal trouble.
Why did the college allow a gay guy share a room with another guy from a very diverse cultural background?Was it not inhumane on both the young lads?College need to take some bit of responsibility here for allowing such a situation to develop in the first instance. Were they given any kind of counselling ? What Ravi did was not right. But to say that, that caused the suicide is totally wrong.One has to consider the psychological issues underlying and the personality of clemanti in dealing with new stressful situations and the coping mechanisms he has learned over the years that contributed to the sad end.But to blame it solely on Ravi would be very unfair. Ravi need to be punished for infringment of privacy only.
He has to face whatever consequences there may be for he deserves it. Bullying is not a simple problem our child encounters in their lives. It now becomes a serious and crucial problem not only for our families but also the community as well. A child's life can change by any bullying experience. Equality for men,women, and even gay's and lesbian should be heard. As a parent , I always found it a fine line between wanting to protect your teenager no matter what gender they may be and giving them the freedom they want as how they want to protect themselves. I found this blog and it had the perfect solution: