TRENTON, N.J. — A former Rutgers University freshman who prosecutors said used a webcam to spy on his roommate’s same-sex encounter was charged Wednesday with a hate crime and accused of deleting tweets and text messages to cover his tracks.
Dharun Ravi, 19, was indicted on 15 counts, including bias intimidation and invasion of privacy, in events before the suicide of Tyler Clementi, 18, whose death started a national conversation on bullying.
Ravi already faced invasion of privacy charges along with another Rutgers student, Molly Wei. It took prosecutors months to present a grand-jury case alleging that Ravi targeted Clementi because of his sexual orientation and tried to broadcast the encounter online to intimidate his roommate.
The cascade of events started the day Ravi “learned the name of his roommate,” Middlesex County Prosecutor Bruce Kaplan said in a statement, not elaborating. The charges do not link the alleged spying to Clementi’s suicide.
“The grand jury indictment spells out cold and calculated acts against our son, Tyler, by his former college roommate,” Clementi’s parents, Jane and Joe Clementi, said in a statement. “If these facts are true, as they appear to be, then it is important for our criminal justice system to establish clear accountability under the law.”
If convicted of the most serious bias charge, Ravi could face five to 10 years in prison.
Kaplan said charges against Wei weren’t presented to the grand jury. It was unclear whether a case against Wei would go before a grand jury or whether she helped prosecutors in the case against Ravi.
Ravi’s attorney didn’t return a call seeking comment. Wei’s attorney declined to comment.
