A Rutgers University Student, Tyler Clementi, jumped to his death off the George Washington Bridge last week after authorities say two of his classmates recorded him having sex with a man in his dorm room. The two students, Dharun Ravi and Molly Wei, then broadcast the video over the internet.
Before jumping, Clementi posted a goodbye message on his Facebook page dated September 22 at 8:42 p.m. that read, “Jumping off the gw bridge sorry.”
Ravi was Clementi’s roommate, and apparently went to Wei’s room, turned on his webcam and saw the encounter, according to a cached version of Ravi’s Twitter account. The Twitter account has been recently deleted.
Ravi and Wei are charged with two counts each of invasion of privacy, claiming they used the webcam to view and transmit a live image of Clementi on September 19. In addition, Ravi was charged with two more counts of invasion of privacy from trying to transmit another encounter on September 21. They could face up to five years in prison if they are convicted.
Chairman of the gay rights group Garden State Equality, Steven Goldstein, said he considers Clementi’s death a hate crime. “We are heartbroken over a tragic loss of a young man who, by all accounts, was brilliant, talented and kind,” Goldstein said. “And we are sickened that anyone in our society, such as the students allegedly responsible for making the surreptitious video, might consider destroying others’ lives as a sport.”
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