Rutgers Freshman Commits Suicide after classmates view his Sexual Activity | UPDATED
An undated Facebook photo of Tyler Clementi
Tormented Tyler Clementi, 18, a freshman at Rutgers University committed suicide after two of his classmates used a hidden form room camera to expose his private sex life all over the web.
According to sources, Clementi, of Ridgewood is believed to have jumped off the George Washington Bridge on Thursday, Sept. 23. The victim’s car was found nearby with both his cell phone and computer inside, his body has yet to be recovered.
The renowned high school violinist was a homosexual which didn’t bode well with classmates Dharun Ravi and Molly Wei, who set up a hidden dorm room camera to stream their fellow student’s sex session.
Dharun Ravi
A Twitter post from Dharun Ravi sent three days before the tragic incident said, “Roommate asked for the room till midnight, so I went into Molly’s room and turned on my webcam. I saw him making out with a dude. Yay.”
Ravi latter pulled down his Twitter account, where he made a cryptic Sept. 22 reference to his roommate asking to have their room to himself.
Ravi’s Twitter page has since been deleted, but, as seen here, a cached version of a portion of the account remains online. Click here to read a press release from the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office detailing its probe of the illegal taping.
The pair, who were high school classmates, were charged with two counts each of invasion of privacy for the Sept. 19 broadcast, said Middlesex County Prosecutor Bruce Kaplan.
Ravi, 18, was free Wednesday on $25,000 bail and co-defendant Wei, 18, was released on her own recognizance after the suspects surrendered to campus police.
If convicted for third degree offenses, the Ravi and Wei could face up to five years in prison. Neither gave comment to news sources who
Molly Wei
contacted them.
According to Middlesex County Prosecutor Bruce Kaplan, it is a fourth-degree crime to collect or view images depicting nudity or sexual content of an individual without that person’s consent. The crime becomes a third-degree offense if the images are transmitted or distributed.
Was this person who committed suicide a victim of SHAME? Whether from society or his parents or both, my question to you is there something wrong with being a young person in college exploring their sexuality?
What do you think? Should they get the maximum or was it just a stupid prank gone horribly wrong?
UPDATE 1:
A poster on a gay men’s message board detailed a story eerily similar to the tale of a Rutgers University freshman who jumped to his death from the George Washington Bridge.
While it’s unclear if the writer who called himself cit2mo was actually Tyler Clementi, the poster recounted filling out a room change request and reporting his roommate to school officials after his makeout session with another man aired on the internet.
“Revenge never ends well for me,” the poster wrote on justusboys.com in explaining his decision to go through university channels.
“As much as I would love to pour pink paint all over his stuff … that would just let him win.”
The five posts – reported on Gawker.com – showed no indication of suicidal intent. The last one was written about 15 hours before Clementi plunged from the George Washington Bridge on Sept. 22.
The timeline of the posts is consistent with the story as well, with the first coming two days after the surreptitious Sept. 19 video aired in cyberspace.
The poster – who listed his age as 19 and his hometown as New York City – said he was aware of his roommate’s use of a webcam to spy on his same-sex tryst.
In one post, the man says he only reported his roomie after learning about a second attempt to live stream his date in their dorm room.
“I ran to the nearest RA and set this thing in motion,” the poster wrote. The complaint was sent to the dorm advisor and two higher ranking officials, the post said.
Tyler’s Facebook profile is still up. It offers little information other than a single Favorite Quotation: “What do you get when you kiss a guy? You get enough germs to catch pneumonia…” —Promises Promises
Recent Suicide prompts Dan Savage to create YouTube channel to help gay teens
UPDATE 2:
A body fished from the water north of the George Washington Bridge was identified Thursday as Tyler Clementi.
UPDATE 3:
Hundreds of students gathered at Rutgers University on Sunday night for a silent vigil to remember classmate Tyler Clementi and condemn the heartless act that pushed him to take his life.
Tearful students hugged and held candles in a show of force tocounter the embarrassing episode that has put the New Brunswick, N.J., school at the center ofa nationwide debate over homophobia and bigotry.
“Hopefully, if other people are going through the same struggles [as Clementi], they can see that there is support for them, and people that care. Everyone is not ignorant,” said sophomore Maggie Rodriguez, 19, of Howell, N.J.
[Cheers nydailynews.com]
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9 Responses to Rutgers Freshman Commits Suicide after classmates view his Sexual Activity | UPDATED
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Einstein: What do you mean "Was this person who committed suicide a victim of SHAME? Whether from society or his parents or bothmy question to you is there something wrong with being a young person in college exploring their sexuality?". Mr. Clementi had images of himself and friend/partner illegally transmitted from a college residence using a Rutgers University server to transmit the material in question.
Under Federal Law, Mr. Clementi's civil rights were violated. You answered your own question! How could you even think of posting the remark "or could it have been JUST a stupid prank gone wrong?"
The two students violated privacy laws. As a result, an 18 year old freshman that had a successful future as a musician took his own life. I can assure you that they will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of New Jersey applicable law. Furthermore, the two immature idiots will be made examples of by the court and Rutgers University.
Have some respect for Tyler Clementi's family.
I agree with you 100% and the questioned asked wasn't to disrespect the Clementi family, in fact I am disgusted by this as much as you are and my heart felt condolences go out to the family.
However, what if the tables were turned and the same video was of a guy with the hot cheerleader? Would the same rules apply to him, or would he be getting high five's and cheers as he walked down the hallway?
Think about it, if these same two student took a heterosexual sex video, it wouldnt even make the news.
Was the video meant to hurt Tyler, yes!….did Dharun and Molly expect things to turn out this way? I guess they can only answer that question
Besides my jaw dropping at "a prank gone horribly wrong" there are other things to consider.
The poor Clementi family lost their son that they just let off to college to live on his own for the first time in his life. And now these two students out of mockery and boredom go out of their way and giggle behind his back and try to exploit this poor kid illegally and against his own will. So many people are focusing on the fact that is exploited his sexual orientation. But even with taking homosexuality out of the equation — this is still horrible and more than just a "prank gone horribly wrong". When this goes to Court I believe that the two other students should receive the proper sentence and academic consequences as if this were to happen to the star football player of Rutgers Football — and this is coming from a Rutgers Alumni student athlete. I myself am heterosexual but strongly believe the homosexual community is taken "Softly" when it comes to bullying or cases such as these. This case should not be taken lightly and I truly hope Rutgers and New Jersey will give these two students a lesson and the consequences they deserve, because it is clear that their parents didn't bringing them up as kids.
This innocent kid was even nice enough to be honest with his roommate and ask for some privacy. He asked his roommate for privacy for just that — privacy. You cannot tell me that Ravi did not know what he was actually doing.
My heart truly goes out to his family. <3
Once again, if these two kids, right out high school, did the same thing only with a heterosexual couple, we wouldnt be here. What they did was absolutely WRONG and I truly beleive this will torment their souls forever, regardless of the punishment they recieve. The act of filming ones sexual experience without their knowledge, whether its heterosexual or homosexual is wrong.
Dharun knew exactly what was going to happen, hence the term "prank" albeit an utterly evil and despicable one.
However, once you pick your jaw off the floor, consider this…do you think for one minute that Dharun and Molly expected the tragic outcome that is before us?
By your reasoning they should be charged with capital murder.
[...] to have jumped off the George Washington Bridge on Thursday, Sept. 23. The victim’s car … – ReadmoreVisit more resources about below.Watch online related news video about Dharun Ravi here: [...]
[...] to have jumped off the George Washington Bridge on Thursday, Sept. 23. The victim’s car … – ReadmoreWatch online related news video about Dharun Ravi here: Related Video [...]
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Clearly I do not believe that Dharun or Molly knew the unfortunate outcome of their actions were going to be of Tyler taking his life! No one ever would. I'm not saying they had the intentions to lead Tyler to harming himself to point of ending his own life, but they DID have to know that exploiting this poor kid publicly on the internet LIVE and posting WHEN it will happen would be the wrong thing to do if not have consequences if caught. How could you do that to someone? I'm not saying they had the intent to lead Tyler to ending his own life. I'm saying justice needs to happen and I hope it does!
I feel sorry that Tyler didn't look into alternate coping mechanisms like talking to his homosexual blog the news is talking about more, or seeking counseling, or requesting for a knew roommate, or even transferring. I'm not denying that. I simply am just saying that what they did is wrong and that it should not be taken lightly be it catching homosexual or heterosexual relations on tape.
If I just started college, and my stranger new roommate unknowingly taped my relations and posted on her Twitter when to watch me, I would be devastated! Hopefully I would not be inclined to take my own life. However, that's not to say that a heterosexual would not have been just as devastated as Tyler and lead to such an unfortunate outcome. So I have to say that if this were a heterosexual encounter, and someone took their life, we would in fact be here.
Again, this just proves to me that people really take the gay community way too lightly and need to respect them as people. (I'm not saying YOU are trying to do that, just in general). They aren't here as a subject of comedy for us to laugh at. They are people just like anyone else. Sexuality aside, Tyler was still only a teenager, in his first year of adulthood, and a talented musician that took his life and this alone is tragic. Dharun and Molly unfortunately are part of that reason — most likely not the ONLY reason which is disheartening.
I want justice for him, Rutgers, his family, and the gay community.
You make for a strong argument….nicely done.