Dharun Ravi guilty of Hate Crimes in Rutgers University spy case

Former Rutgers University student Dharun Ravi was convicted on Friday on all 15 charges he faced for using a webcam to spy on his roommate, Tyler Clementi, having sex with another man. Former federal prosecutor Marcellus A. McRae said, “It’s a watershed moment, because it says youth is not immunity.” Ravi, after setting up the webcam, had sent out Twitter and text messages encouraging others to watch his roommate encounter sexual activity with another man. Clementi jumped to his death from the George Washington Bridge three days after the webcam viewing, only three weeks into his freshman year in September 2010.

Ravi was not charged with Clementi’s death, but some legal experts along with Ravi’s lawyers, argue that he was receiving punishment for the young man’s death and the case’s result is only ruining another young life. They argued that the case was criminalizing simple boorish behavior. The jury found Ravi guilty of invasion of privacy, bias intimidation, lying to investigators, trying to influence a witness, and tampering with evidence after he tried to cover up Twitter and text messages inviting others to join in the viewing. Some of Ravi’s charges carry penalties of 5 to 10 years in prison. Ravi has surrendered his passport and prosecutors report he could face possible deportation to his native land of India, but the decision would be left to immigration officials. Judge Glenn Berman set Ravi’s sentencing for May 21, 2012.