News Rutgers freshman suicide after roommate broadcast gay sexual encounter online? - Page 3

**jAZ** · 09-29-2010, 11:34 PM

Wow. Prank gone waaay wrong.

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/201...gers_post.html

Rutgers freshman is presumed dead in suicide after roommate broadcast gay sexual encounter online

Wednesday, September 29, 2010, 5:42 PM
Kelly Heyboer/ The Star-Ledger

PISCATAWAY — A Rutgers University freshman appears to have killed himself by jumping off the George Washington Bridge after his roommate broadcast live images of the 18-year-old having a sexual encounter with another man on the internet, according to campus and law enforcement sources.

Tyler Clementi, 18, of Ridgewood, is presumed dead after his car, cell phone and computer were found near the George Washington Bridge last week, law enforcement sources said. His wallet was found on the walkway adjacent to the New York-bound lanes. In a statement released this afternoon, Clementi’s family confirmed the suicide and said his body has not been found.

Dharun Ravi, 18, of Plainsboro, and Molly Wei, 18, of Princeton, were charged with two counts each of invasion of privacy for setting up a camera in a dorm room on Sept. 19 and using it to view and transmit a live sex scene, said Middlesex County Prosecutor Bruce Kaplan.

Paul Mainardi of Woodbury, the Clementi family's attorney, said Ravi and Clementi were roommates at Rutgers.

Ravi's Twitter feed on that date referred to seeing his roommate have sex with another man in their room on the Piscataway campus, classmates said.

"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," Ravi said on his Twitter page in a Sept. 19 entry posted at 6:17 p.m.

Two days later, Ravi posted another entry directing his nearly 150 Twitter followers to iChat, an internet messaging service with a live video feed.

"Anyone with iChat, I dare you to video chat me between the hours of 9:30 and 12. Yes it's happening again," Ravi wrote in the Sept. 21 post.

Ravi's Twitter feed has since been taken down. But the entries survived in a cached version of the page still available through Google's search engine this afternoon.

Prosecutors said Ravi and Wei set up a camera on Sept. 19 and broadcast live images of Clementi having a "sexual encounter." Ravi is also accused of trying unsuccessfully to broadcast a second sex scene Sept. 21.

The Clementi family released a statement this afternoon. "Tyler was a fine young man, and a distinguished musician. The family is heartbroken beyond words. They respectfully request that they be given time to grieve their great loss and that their privacy at this painful time be respected by all," it said.

"The family and their representatives are cooperating fully with the ongoing criminal investigations of two Rutgers University students," the statement said.

Clementi was an accomplished violinist who had received a college scholarship from the Ridgewood Symphony Orchestra for his musicianship and leadership.
The violinist left a lasting impression with some in the Bergen County town, said Hiro Kagei, 17, who played in the orchestra with the teenager. A solo Clementi played in a concert last year "blew the audience away," he said.

"Now that he’ dead, it’s sad to think we won’t hear something like that anymore," Kagei said.

On the Rutgers campus, classmates described Clementi as quiet. At a mandatory dorm meeting called the day he was reported missing, only three students said they had spoken to Clementi since they moved into the dorm last month, according to students who were at the meeting.

Ravi and Wei — who were classmates at West Windsor-Plainsboro High School North before enrolling at Rutgers this fall — did not respond to e-mail requests to comment Tuesday. Steve Altman, Ravi’s attorney, also declined to comment.

Ravi surrendered to Rutgers police Tuesday and was released on $25,000 bail, the prosecutor’s office said. Wei surrendered to the campus police Monday and was released on her own recognizance.

Under New Jersey’s invasion-of-privacy laws, it is a fourth degree crime to collect or view images depicting nudity or sexual contact involving another individual without that person’s consent, the prosecutor said. It is a third degree crime to transmit or distribute the images.

If the students are convicted on a third degree offense they could face up to five years in prison each under state law. Conviction on a fourth-degree crime could lead to probation or up to 18 months in prison.

**Mr. Kotter** · 09-30-2010, 08:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Buck

Just because you are butthurt doesn't mean you should commit suicide.

Sure it does. It's the only way out. he had no choice but to jump off that bridge.

Chazno · 09-30-2010, 08:40 AM

Heres to hoping he faked the suicide and will hide out long enough for his roommate to be "initiated" in jail

Chiefnj2 · 09-30-2010, 08:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

You don't see the distinction between having sex with an ugly chick and the social stigma that goes along with being outed?

If someone mailed your mom a postcard of you nailing the cleaning lady, I'm guessing your reaction would be slightly more subdued than if someone mailed her a picture of you nailing a llama. Don't play dumb, you know there's a difference here.

Some folks end up severely phsychologically tortured over their sexuality, this kid appears to be one of those folks.

It seems like he was out of the closet. He was in college a month and only spoke to 3 people in his dorm his entire time there? If you want to have anonymous gay sex, I'd think the last thing you would do is ask your roommate for privacy days or hours before and then bring another male into you dorm room. It doesn't seem like his sexuality was a huge secret. His emails on the gay website were more about his violation of privacy than "oh my god, everyone knows I'm gay."

Hug it Out Dan · 09-30-2010, 08:49 AM

I dont agree with the jail sentence.

He can't control whether the guy committs suicide or not. The guy obviously had some problems for him to do something like that.

To be honest I'd be pissed of as hell if my roomate wanted me to leave the room so him and some dude could perform homosexual acts in my room while I was gone. That's just gross.

Otter · 09-30-2010, 08:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Laces Out Dan

I dont agree with the jail sentence.

He can't control whether the guy committs suicide or not. The guy obviously had some problems for him to do something like that.

To be honest I'd be pissed of as hell if my roomate wanted me to leave the room so him and some dude could perform homosexual acts in my room while I was gone. That's just gross.

The sentences are based solely on the actions of taping him w/o is knowledge and distributing the feed on the internet judging from what I read.

I agree it's gross but but it's something you may want to ask or at least consider before becoming roommates with a guy who's a musician major and dresses like he just stepped off the set of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy.

KCUnited · 09-30-2010, 09:00 AM

This is a very hard on to Analyze.

**loochy** · 09-30-2010, 09:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KCUnited

This is a very hard on to Analyze.

heh heh he you said "anal"

|Zach| · 09-30-2010, 09:02 AM

Not really convinced this is necessarily a gay anything issue.

Everything that is out there makes it look like it had a huge effect on the consequence which was the death but I am not convinced it had anything to do with the intent.

In other words...I bet this video taping happens if he is with a chick.

siberian khatru · 09-30-2010, 09:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chazno

Heres to hoping he faked the suicide and will hide out long enough for his roommate to be "initiated" in jail

That thought actually has crossed my mind. Everyone's presuming he jumped. What if he left all those clues behind just to make people think he did?

Thing is, that would be an AWFUL thing to do to your family. Well, I guess actually killing yourself is worse, but to string your folks along like that for a few days would be pretty low, too.

**DaFace** · 09-30-2010, 09:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Buck

Just because you are butthurt doesn't mean you should commit suicide.

I agree, but this goes quite a bit beyond butthurt. If the kid's 18 and his roommate didn't know he was gonna be making out with a dude, that means he was likely in the closet, and this amounted to outing him against his will all over the internet. That's a pretty traumatic thing to go through, I'd bet.

Chiefnj2 · 09-30-2010, 09:10 AM

The perpetrator looks like the kid from the movie Soul Man.

Radar Chief · 09-30-2010, 09:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by loochy

heh heh he you said "anal"

Uh-huh-huh-huh, yea. And "hard on". :Elvis:

**2112** · 09-30-2010, 09:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Laces Out Dan

I dont agree with the jail sentence.

He can't control whether the guy committs suicide or not. The guy obviously had some problems for him to do something like that.

To be honest I'd be pissed of as hell if my roomate wanted me to leave the room so him and some dude could perform homosexual acts in my room while I was gone. That's just gross.

The jail sentence has nothing to do with the suicide. lol! did you read the op?

Pants · 09-30-2010, 09:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Otter

The sentences are based solely on the actions of taping him w/o is knowledge and distributing the feed on the internet judging from what I read.

I agree it's gross but but it's something you may want to ask or at least consider before becoming roommates with a guy who's a musician major and dresses like he just stepped off the set of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy.

Unless you request a specific person you want to be roommates with, the school will randomly put people together in rooms. Even if you request someone, it's not ALWAYS going to happen. Sounds like ol Ravi didn't request to live with his high-school buddy.

**The Franchise** · 09-30-2010, 09:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Buck

Just because you are butthurt doesn't mean you should commit suicide.

09-29-2010, 11:34 PM
jAZ Supporter Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: Tucson, AZ Casino cash: $9817493	Rutgers freshman suicide after roommate broadcast gay sexual encounter online? Wow. Prank gone waaay wrong. http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/201...gers_post.html Rutgers freshman is presumed dead in suicide after roommate broadcast gay sexual encounter online Wednesday, September 29, 2010, 5:42 PM Kelly Heyboer/ The Star-Ledger PISCATAWAY — A Rutgers University freshman appears to have killed himself by jumping off the George Washington Bridge after his roommate broadcast live images of the 18-year-old having a sexual encounter with another man on the internet, according to campus and law enforcement sources. Tyler Clementi, 18, of Ridgewood, is presumed dead after his car, cell phone and computer were found near the George Washington Bridge last week, law enforcement sources said. His wallet was found on the walkway adjacent to the New York-bound lanes. In a statement released this afternoon, Clementi’s family confirmed the suicide and said his body has not been found. Dharun Ravi, 18, of Plainsboro, and Molly Wei, 18, of Princeton, were charged with two counts each of invasion of privacy for setting up a camera in a dorm room on Sept. 19 and using it to view and transmit a live sex scene, said Middlesex County Prosecutor Bruce Kaplan. Paul Mainardi of Woodbury, the Clementi family's attorney, said Ravi and Clementi were roommates at Rutgers. Ravi's Twitter feed on that date referred to seeing his roommate have sex with another man in their room on the Piscataway campus, classmates said. "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," Ravi said on his Twitter page in a Sept. 19 entry posted at 6:17 p.m. Two days later, Ravi posted another entry directing his nearly 150 Twitter followers to iChat, an internet messaging service with a live video feed. "Anyone with iChat, I dare you to video chat me between the hours of 9:30 and 12. Yes it's happening again," Ravi wrote in the Sept. 21 post. Ravi's Twitter feed has since been taken down. But the entries survived in a cached version of the page still available through Google's search engine this afternoon. Prosecutors said Ravi and Wei set up a camera on Sept. 19 and broadcast live images of Clementi having a "sexual encounter." Ravi is also accused of trying unsuccessfully to broadcast a second sex scene Sept. 21. The Clementi family released a statement this afternoon. "Tyler was a fine young man, and a distinguished musician. The family is heartbroken beyond words. They respectfully request that they be given time to grieve their great loss and that their privacy at this painful time be respected by all," it said. "The family and their representatives are cooperating fully with the ongoing criminal investigations of two Rutgers University students," the statement said. Clementi was an accomplished violinist who had received a college scholarship from the Ridgewood Symphony Orchestra for his musicianship and leadership. The violinist left a lasting impression with some in the Bergen County town, said Hiro Kagei, 17, who played in the orchestra with the teenager. A solo Clementi played in a concert last year "blew the audience away," he said. "Now that he’ dead, it’s sad to think we won’t hear something like that anymore," Kagei said. On the Rutgers campus, classmates described Clementi as quiet. At a mandatory dorm meeting called the day he was reported missing, only three students said they had spoken to Clementi since they moved into the dorm last month, according to students who were at the meeting. Ravi and Wei — who were classmates at West Windsor-Plainsboro High School North before enrolling at Rutgers this fall — did not respond to e-mail requests to comment Tuesday. Steve Altman, Ravi’s attorney, also declined to comment. Ravi surrendered to Rutgers police Tuesday and was released on $25,000 bail, the prosecutor’s office said. Wei surrendered to the campus police Monday and was released on her own recognizance. Under New Jersey’s invasion-of-privacy laws, it is a fourth degree crime to collect or view images depicting nudity or sexual contact involving another individual without that person’s consent, the prosecutor said. It is a third degree crime to transmit or distribute the images. If the students are convicted on a third degree offense they could face up to five years in prison each under state law. Conviction on a fourth-degree crime could lead to probation or up to 18 months in prison.
Posts: 24,800

09-30-2010, 08:40 AM	#32
Chazno Starter Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: asdf Casino cash: $1997963	Heres to hoping he faked the suicide and will hide out long enough for his roommate to be "initiated" in jail
Posts: 522

09-30-2010, 08:49 AM	#34
Hug it Out Dan Starter Join Date: Sep 2010 Casino cash: $10004900	I dont agree with the jail sentence. He can't control whether the guy committs suicide or not. The guy obviously had some problems for him to do something like that. To be honest I'd be pissed of as hell if my roomate wanted me to leave the room so him and some dude could perform homosexual acts in my room while I was gone. That's just gross.
Posts: 445

09-30-2010, 09:00 AM	#36
KCUnited Cheat Death Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Land of Drincoln Casino cash: $-1461756	This is a very hard on to Analyze.
Posts: 36,887

09-30-2010, 09:02 AM	#38
\|Zach\| For The Glory Of The City Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Kansas City Casino cash: $3146768	Not really convinced this is necessarily a gay anything issue. Everything that is out there makes it look like it had a huge effect on the consequence which was the death but I am not convinced it had anything to do with the intent. In other words...I bet this video taping happens if he is with a chick.
Posts: 54,693

09-30-2010, 09:10 AM	#41
Chiefnj2 In Search of a Life Join Date: Mar 2007 Casino cash: $6674388	The perpetrator looks like the kid from the movie Soul Man. __________________ Mismanaging the clock.
Posts: 22,540