Best views, weather, etc. How to test them 👓 SC, Ala. sites look back Betty Ford honored
NATION NOW
Tyler Clementi

Roommate pleads guilty in webcam spying case

Suzanne Russell
(East Brunswick, N.J.) Home News Tribune
In this March 2, 2012 photo, Dharun Ravi waits for his trial to begin at the Middlesex County Courthouse in New Brunswick. Ravi, a former Rutgers University student, whose roommate Tyler Clementi killed himself in 2010 after being captured on a webcam kissing another man, pleaded guilty Thursday to attempted invasion of privacy, and was sentenced to probation and 30 days time served.

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. — A former Rutgers University student whose roommate killed himself after being captured on a webcam kissing another man has pleaded guilty to attempted invasion of privacy.

Thursday’s plea from Dharun Ravi, 24, a former Plainsboro resident, comes after an appeals court last month threw out a 15-count conviction against him in a case that stemmed from the 2010 death of 18-year-old Tyler Clementi.

The plea, which includes no additional penalties, also officially ends the case involving Ravi.

Clementi committed suicide on Sept. 22, 2010, days after Ravi, his freshman roommate, live-streamed him in a sexual act with another man. Clementi's death started a national conversation about the treatment of young gays, and his parents, Joe and Jane Clementi, later founded the Tyler Clementi Foundation to combat online and offline bullying, harassment and humiliation.

In a statement issued after the hearing, Jane and Joe Clementi said they have learned a lot through the process of pleas, convictions, time served and appeals.

Tyler Clementi’s death started a national conversation about the treatment of young gays.

"We learned at the trial that what happened to Tyler was a lot worse than what was initially related to us. We have learned that our legislators need to make constitutionally valid and clear laws. And we have learned that witnesses or bystanders need to become upstanders for those in our society like Tyler, who cannot stand up for themselves," the statement said.

"We call on all young people and parents to think about their behavior and not be bystanders to bullying, harassment or humiliation. Interrupt it, report it and reach out to victims to offer support. If this had happened in Tyler's case our lives might be very different today."

In court Thursday, Ravi admitted that he was responsible for attempting to activate a web camera in his Rutgers University dorm room to spy on his roommate, Clementi, and another man, according to Middlesex County Prosecutor Andrew C. Carey.

Ravi also said he invited other people to watch the activity, adding that he believed sexual activity was going to occur based on what he had observed two days earlier. Ravi was not charged in Clementi's death.

Conviction overturned for Tyler Clementi's ex-roommate

He was sentenced Thursday to probation plus 30 days in jail, and won’t serve any additional jail time under the plea agreement. He had faced up to 10 years in prison.

The plea was entered during a hearing before Middlesex County Superior Court Judge Joseph Paone, who reimposed the original sentence, noting all the terms have already been met.

In 2012, Ravi was convicted of 15 counts and sentenced to 30 days in the Middlesex County Adult Corrections Center in North Brunswick, placed on probation for three years and ordered to serve 300 hours of community service and participate in cyberbullying counseling. He also was fined $10,000.

He satisfied the penalties and served the sentence, according to the prosecutor's office. He was released from the county jail after 20 days for good behavior.

In this Dec. 9, 2011, file photo, Jane Clementi, right, the mother of Tyler Clementi, looks at family photographs as her husband, Joseph Clementi, back left, the father of Tyler Clementi, speaks to a reporter in their home in Ridgewood.

Last month, his conviction was overturned by the Appellate Division of Superior Court and several bias intimidation charges were dismissed because of a change in state law. A new trial was ordered.

According to the prosecutor's office, if the case had been retried and Ravi convicted again, the law would prohibit the court from imposing a sentence harsher than the penalties from the original sentence.

"Reaching the plea agreement was a reasonable way to resolve the case in view of the appellate court decision, which dismissed a series of criminal bias charges that had been leveled against the defendant by a grand jury in Middlesex County," Carey said. "Our sympathies remain with the victim's family, which continues to work to protect our at-risk youth."

Featured Weekly Ad