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Rutgers student gets 30 days for spying on gay roommate with Webcam

Tyler Clementi apparently committed suicide after his college roommate, Dharun Ravi, spied on him with another man and tweeted about it.

(Credit: Tyler Clementi)

A Rutgers University student was sentenced to 30 days in jail today for spying on his gay roommate’s romantic encounter, an act that may have been related to the roommate’s subsequent suicide.

Dharun Ravi, 20, set up the Webcam several times, urged others to watch and tweeted about watching his roommate, Tyler Clementi, “making out with a dude.” The 18-year-old Clementi jumped to his death from a bridge a few days after learning about the spying.

Ravi, who faced up to 10 years in prison, was charged with 15 counts, including invasion of privacy, bias intimidation, hindering apprehension and tampering with a witness and evidence. He was also sentenced to three years’ probation, 300 hours of community service and ordered to pay a $10,000 probation fee and to get counseling about cyberbully sensitivity.

Although the judge had told the jury that the suicide was not relevant to the case, he noted Ravi’s lack of remorse for his actions.

“You lied to your roommate who placed his trust in you without any conditions, and you violated it,” said Judge Glenn Berman of New Jersey State Superior Court, according to the New York Times. “I haven’t heard you apologize once.”

The prosecutor had made the same argument, noting that the day after Clementi’s suicide, Ravi texted a friend about wanting to return to Rutgers: “How can I convince my mom to let me go back Friday night and get drunk.”