Tyler Clementi’s alleged harassers drop out of Rutgers Friday, 29 October 2010 12:15 Share this Twitter Myspace Digg Del.icio.us Reddit Slashdot Furl Yahoo Technorati Newsvine FacebookExport PDFPrintE-mailTags weiraviclementischooluniversitycrimenewsprosecutorsprivacyrutgerssuicidelawyersdegreedobbsdormreportsaltmantylerroomdisciplinary
BY BOB HOLT NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM The two Rutgers University freshmen accused of broadcasting video online of fellow freshman Tyler Clementi having sex with another man have withdrawn from the school. Dharun Ravi of Plainsboro and Molly Wei of West Windsor, both 18, are charged with two counts each of invasion of privacy for using the camera to watch Clementi's Sept. 19 encounter with another man in his dorm room on the Piscataway campus, prosecutors said. Ravi posted a message on his Twitter account that day telling friends he and Wei had seen his roommate "making out with a dude" when they turned on the webcam remotely from her dorm room. Clementi, of Ridgewood, committed suicide on September 22. Ravi is free on $25,000 bail and Wei is free on her own recognizance while prosecutors consider upgrading their charges to bias crimes because Clementi was gay. According to report in the Daily Record, Steven Altman of New Brunswick, the attorney for Dharun Ravi, Clementi's roommate, said the withdrawals of Ravi and Wei mean neither face university disciplinary hearings. In the days after Clementi's suicide became international news, several gay rights and anti-bullying groups called from Wei and Ravi's immediate expulsion from the state university. Other groups said the pair, who went to high school together, was being unfairly vilified. NJ.com reports that an activist group known as Queering the Air held a rally to call for "fairness and due process for Ravi and Wei in any criminal or disciplinary proceeding," said Bill Dobbs, one of the group's organizers. "Queering the Air has opposed and criticized efforts to ‘throw the book at them' or otherwise rush to judgment," Dobbs said. According to the New York Daily News, Ravi has transferred to another school and Wei quit out of fear for her life, their lawyers said Friday. Wei's few remaining pals said she believes she'll eventually be exonerated. "I am heartened to hear that prosecutors are taking their time to learn all the facts before rushing to judgment. I can only hope that the public will do the same," Altman said in a statement, according to the New York Post. Wei's lawyers, Eric Kahn and Rubin Sinins called Wei a "wonderful, caring and talented young woman with a bright future," and added that she has been "maligned by unfounded attack on her character." Rutgers spokesman Greg Trevor refused to comment on Ravi and Wei's status at the school. Under federal privacy laws, university officials are forbidden from speaking about a student's enrollment status. Under New Jersey's privacy law it is a crime to transmit or even view images that depict nudity or sexual contact with an individual without that person's consent, reports CBS News affiliate WCBS. Collecting or viewing sexual images without consent is a fourth-degree crime. Transmitting them is a third-degree crime with a maximum prison sentence of five years. Both Ravi and Wei could face up to five years in prison if convicted. More: http://www.newjerseynewsroom.com/state/tyler-clementis-alleged-harassers-drop-out-of-rutgers -- Together, we can change the world, one mind at a time. Have a great day, Tommy -- Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more.
