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Ex-Rutgers student convicted of hate crime, invasion of privacy in webcam spying case

12:28 pm - 03/16/2012
[TW FOR SUICIDE AND HOMOPHOBIC BULLYING]

By By GEOFF MULVIHILL, Associated Press

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. -- A former Rutgers University student accused of using a webcam to spy on his gay roommate's love life was convicted of all counts Friday in a case that exploded into the headlines when the victim of the snooping committed suicide by throwing himself off a bridge.

Dharun Ravi, 20, shook his head slightly after the guilty verdicts were read for all 15 counts, including bias intimidation – a hate crime that was based on the victim's sexual orientation – and invasion of privacy.

He could get years in prison – and could be deported to his native India, even though he has lived legally in the U.S. since he was a little boy – for his part in an act that cast a spotlight on teen suicide and anti-gay bullying and illustrated the Internet's potential for tormenting others.

Prosecutors said that Ravi set up a webcam in his dorm room in September 2010 and captured his roommate, Tyler Clementi, kissing another man, then tweeted about it and excitedly tried to catch Clementi in the act again two days later. About a half-dozen students were believed to have seen the live video of the kissing.

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apis_cerana 16th-Mar-2012 04:41 pm (UTC)
Hm :\
ladyaries 16th-Mar-2012 04:45 pm (UTC)
Awesome.

Although deportation? Really? That's pretty ridiculous.
lifeisnutty 16th-Mar-2012 05:09 pm (UTC)
Yeah I mean, he came to America when he was a kid... seems a bit odd.
mingemonster 16th-Mar-2012 04:46 pm (UTC)
i'm glad he was sentenced, but the fact that he risks deportation is fucked up. everyone should be punished equally, and deportation just because he's an immigrant is...
little_rachael 16th-Mar-2012 04:48 pm (UTC)
He could get years in prison –

Good.

and could be deported to his native India, even though he has lived legally in the U.S. since he was a little boy

What? No.

Immigrants should not be deported for any crime, no matter how heinous. If someone is a U.S. citizen, they should be punished in the same manner as any U.S. citizen, regardless of birthplace.
imnotasquirrel 16th-Mar-2012 04:51 pm (UTC)
If someone is a U.S. citizen, they should be punished in the same manner as any U.S. citizen,

Not that I agree with the deportation, but IIRC Ravi is not a US citizen. Only his little brother is. He is a legal resident, though.
imnotasquirrel 16th-Mar-2012 04:48 pm (UTC)
I read elsewhere that he was actually found guilty of some counts of bias intimidation, but not others. And then another article I read said that he wasn't found guilty of bias intimidation at all. Now I'm confused.

I overheard my coworkers talking about this and they were criticizing the verdict, saying that Ravi didn't make Clementi jump off the bridge. BUT HE'S NOT BEING CHARGED IN TYLER'S DEATH, COME ON.

Edited at 2012-03-16 04:52 pm (UTC)
lifeisnutty 16th-Mar-2012 05:17 pm (UTC)
I feel like it would be pretty hard to get a charge of having played a part in Tyler's death stick and it would simply prove to drag the poor kid and his family in the mud even more than what has already occurred.

(The NYT article seems pretty comprehensive... http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/17/nyregion/defendant-guilty-in-rutgers-case.html?_r=1&src=tp&smid=fb-share )
wigglybob 16th-Mar-2012 04:48 pm (UTC)
Like other commentors have said the deportation part is fucked up, but I'm glad he is being held legally responsible for this.
washable 16th-Mar-2012 04:56 pm (UTC)
This.
draion 16th-Mar-2012 04:51 pm (UTC)
The deportation part really bothers the hell out of me, even though I have a lot of contempt for what he did (and am glad he's being legally held against).
jettakd 16th-Mar-2012 05:03 pm (UTC)
The deportation would set a really horrible precedent. I am very glad to here about his potential jail time though.
itsirtou 16th-Mar-2012 06:15 pm (UTC)
The deportation part isn't that surprising, although I don't necessarily agree with it. I'm guessing this falls under INA 237(a)(2)(A)(ii). Under that part of the statute, he can get deported for two or more crimes involving moral turpitude, since you can get deported any time after your admission if you do so. (Not sure on that, since this seems to arise out of the same scheme of misconduct.) Either that, or an aggravated felony and he can be deported under 237(a)(2)(A)(iii), but I don't know the sentence length.

From what I can tell, it has to be one of those two statutes; the others don't really apply.

Either way, unfortunately, this happens a lot -- deportation on the basis of convictions of crimes. The INA has a whole bunch of ways to get deported.

EDIT: Oop, I meant to leave this as a general comment to the entry, not as a comment to you.

Edited at 2012-03-16 06:16 pm (UTC)
xerox78 16th-Mar-2012 05:21 pm (UTC)
and could be deported to his native India, even though he has lived legally in the U.S. since he was a little boy

No one would be talking about deporting him if he were a white guy from Europe.
13chapters 16th-Mar-2012 05:28 pm (UTC)
IDK, there was a recent case in my area where a legally married gay couple was having trouble preventing the deportation of one of the spouses, and he was a white dude from Australia. Everyone just looooooves deporting people, it's our new national past time.
maenads_dance 16th-Mar-2012 05:29 pm (UTC)
Although at the time the story first broke my reaction to this case was indeed outrage, I have since come around to finding this story extremely sad - a young man died by his own hand, after all - but I am unconvinced that a) Clementi's death was directly related to Ravi's actions and that b) Ravi would have been charged and prosecuted as heavily had Clementi not died (or been charged and prosecuted at all, frankly).
evewithanapple 16th-Mar-2012 05:48 pm (UTC)
and that b) Ravi would have been charged and prosecuted as heavily had Clementi not died (or been charged and prosecuted at all, frankly).

GEE, I WONDER WHY.
mercystars 16th-Mar-2012 05:33 pm (UTC)
I'm surprised they convicted on all counts, tbh.
anolinde 16th-Mar-2012 05:37 pm (UTC)
What about the girl who was involved?
imnotasquirrel 16th-Mar-2012 05:38 pm (UTC)
She agreed to a deal where she would enter some sort of intervention program for first-time offenders and perform 200 (300?) hours of community service, and her record would be expunged, as long as she testified against Ravi.
ilovedogs 16th-Mar-2012 05:38 pm (UTC)
Whoa. Bet he is wishing like hell he had taken that plea.
crossfire 16th-Mar-2012 08:01 pm (UTC)
I gotta say, people, I don't care how long he's lived here. If he's not a citizen and he bullied someone to the point where they committed suicide, I'm not going to shed a tear if he gets his homophobic ass deported.
teleens_journal 16th-Mar-2012 08:12 pm (UTC)
This.
cindel 16th-Mar-2012 09:03 pm (UTC)
Good. I watched a few clips and this guy was smug as hell.
i_amthecosmos 16th-Mar-2012 09:59 pm (UTC)
Note to future offenders: If you do something that makes international news and get the chance for a plea bargain that soft, take it.

Ravi was a hell of an arrogant son of a bitch for holding out for a trial.

Edited at 2012-03-16 09:59 pm (UTC)
very_veggie 16th-Mar-2012 10:01 pm (UTC)
I'm glad there was a guilty verdict, but I wonder if the sentence will be very significant. I know there's the possibility of several years in prison and/or deportation, but I'll believe it when I see it.
paulnolan 17th-Mar-2012 04:54 am (UTC)
Nice one. :D

Although the comments here are kind of nauseating... I know most of y'all are straight, but could you stop fretting about the poor little homophobe please?
85redberries 17th-Mar-2012 06:38 am (UTC)
Seriously. I feel gross knowing people here feel bad about the one person who wasn't mistreated or harmed.
mrasaki 19th-Mar-2012 08:57 pm (UTC)
Actually, I'm really freaking glad about the results of this trial, including the potential that he may be deported. He is not a "scapegoat" or being unfairly blamed or whatever excuses people are coming up with. There needs to be a stand against the casual homophobia all too prevalent (and excused as 'kids being dumb/didn't mean it/he's not really a homophobe/etc) in society, and they have taken it.

And deporting is standard procedure for non-citizen criminals. In fact, permanent residents have to renew their green card every year or so and with that is the explicit agreement that the green-card holder will not commit any crimes on pain on deportation.
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