Dharun Ravi faces ten years in prison and deportation A former student at New Jersey’s Rutgers University has been found guilty of hate crimes, for spying on his roommate’s sexual activity with a webcam. The victim, Tyler Clementi, later took his own life. After 12 hours of deliberations over three days, the jury convicted Dharun Ravi on all 15 counts, including two counts of bias intimidation based on sexual orientation, which is a hate crime, invasion of privacy and tampering with evidence and witnesses, Reuters reports. The 20-year-old now faces 10 years in prison. He broadcast a feed of 18-year-old Clementi having sex. The younger student committed suicide after hearing his sexual encounter had been shown over a webcam. Ravi is an Indian citizen who has lived most of his life in the US, and now faces possible deportation. He will be sentenced in May. The verdict has sparked mixed reactions, with some claiming it’s overzealous and others, such as civil rights group Garden State Equality, hailing the decision. “This verdict sends the important message that a ‘kids will be kids’ defense is no excuse to bully another student,” chairman Steven Goldstein says in a statement.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Saturday, 17th March 2012 - 11:23am