In New Jersey, a jury has found former Rutgers student Dharun Ravi guilty on all counts -- including hate crimes -- for using a webcam to spy on his roommate, Tyler Clementi, having an intimate encounter with another man in their dorm room: Defendant in Rutgers Spying Case Guilty of Hate Crimes.The case received national attention in 2010 and became a flashpoint over anti-gay bullying when Clementi committed suicide by jumping off the George Washington Bridge after learning of the webcam incident. Ravi was convicted of invasion of privacy, bias intimidation, witness tampering and hindering arrest:
Mr. Ravi looked down but did not seem to react as the jury forewoman read the verdict on Friday. Mr. Clementi’s parents and family sat with arms around one another, leaning forward as they listened to the forewoman speak. Jane Clementi, Tyler’s mother, appeared to cry as the verdict was read. Afterward, Mr. Ravi’s mother clutched his arm as he left the courtroom in a swarm of television cameras.The convictions carry a possible sentence of five to ten years in prison, but Ravi is in the United States on a green card, and could face possible deportation to India. He is scheduled to be sentenced on May 21. More here: Dharun Ravi Found Guilty in Rutgers Trial.
Mr. Ravi, 20, was not charged in Mr. Clementi's death. He faced 15 accounts of invasion of privacy, bias intimidation, tampering with evidence and a witness, and hindering apprehension. The jury found that he did not intend to intimidate Mr. Clementi the first night he turned on the webcam to watch. But the jury concluded that Mr. Clementi had reason to believe he had been targeted because he was gay, and in one charge, the jury found that Mr. Ravi had known Mr. Clementi would feel intimidated by his actions.
I could tell you I feel sorry for this guy, but that would be lying.
