NEW BRUNSWICK, n.j. — The trial of a former Rutgers University student accused of using a webcam to spy on his roommate’s intimate liaison with another man opened Friday with questions about whether the defendant had a problem with gay people.
A prosecutor told jurors that Dharun Ravi, now 19, spied on roommate Tyler Clementi and acted maliciously “to deprive him of his dignity.” Clementi, in an act that sparked a national conversation about bullying of young gays, committed suicide days after the alleged spying in September 2010.
Ravi’s attorney insisted his client isn’t bigoted. “He may be stupid at times,” defense attorney Steven Altman said in his opening statement. “He’s an 18-year-old boy, but he’s certainly not a criminal.”
Early witnesses testified that Ravi expressed discomfort about having a gay roommate, but they didn’t know him to have a problem with gay people.
His attitude matters in the trial because the 15 charges Ravi faces include bias intimidation, which can carry a 10-year prison sentence. To get a conviction on that charge, prosecutors must persuade jurors that Ravi acted out of bias against gays.
Ravi also is charged with invasion of privacy. And he is accused of trying to cover his tracks by taking measures including deleting a Twitter message and instructing a witness what to tell police. He is not charged with Clementi’s death.
In her opening statement, First Assistant Middlesex County Prosecutor Julia McClure did not mention Clementi’s suicide. But she said Ravi’s actions were intended to victimize his roommate.
“They were planned to expose Tyler Clementi’s sexual orientation,” she said.
Altman said Ravi saw seconds’ worth of images of Clementi and another man hugging.
“Dharun never intimidated anybody, you’ll see that,” Altman said. “He never transmitted any images. He never harassed his roommate, he never ridiculed his roommate.”
The first witness called by prosecutors was Austin Chung, a high school friend of Ravi’s who testified that Ravi told him about seeing Clementi “making out with some dude” via webcam.
On cross-examination, Chung, a student at Stevens Institute of Technology, said he didn’t know Ravi to have a problem with gay people.
Three other witnesses, all Rutgers students, followed Chung on the stand. Altman asked each whether they knew Ravi to speak against gays. All said he didn’t.
But Cassandra Cicco said Ravi told her that he streamed the video to see whether Clementi was gay — as he suspected.
