PISCATAWAY — Bias charges are being considered against Rutgers students Dharun Ravi and Molly Wei, who are accused of using a camera hidden in a dorm room to transmit online a gay sexual encounter involving Ravi's roommate Tyler Clementi, authorities said tonight.
Clementi, of Ridgewood, committed suicide after he learned of the hidden camera by jumping off the George Washington Bridge. Authorities confirmed a body found in the Hudson River Wednesday was Clementi's.
Ravi, 18, of Plainsboro, and Wei, 18, of West Windsor, face charges of invasion of privacy and transmitting the image over the internet. Both are free pending court hearings.
‘’The initial focus of this investigation has been to determine who was responsible for remotely activating the camera in the dormitory room of the student and then transmitting the encounter on the Internet,’’ Middlesex County Prosecutor Bruce Kaplan said in a statement released this evening.
‘’Now that two individuals have been charged with invasion of privacy, we will be making every effort to assess whether bias played a role in the incident, and, if so, we will bring appropriate charges.’’
Gov. Chris Christie called Clementi's death an "unspeakable tragedy" today and said he would let Attorney General Paula Dow to evaluate whether bias charges would be warranted.
Rutgers University President Richard L. McCormick issued a statement this evening saying he had spoken with Clementi's parents to convey the condolences on behalf of the university.
"The Rutgers University community is in mourning over the death of first-year student Tyler Clementi," McCormick said in the statement. "We grieve for him and for his family, friends and classmates as they deal with the tragic loss of a gifted young man who was a strong student and a highly accomplished musician."
"I have spoken with Tyler’s parents to extend my own and the university’s deepest sympathies, and we will continue to respect the family’s request for privacy. It is up to us at Rutgers to honor this young man’s life by reaffirming, and living up to, our commitment to the values of civility, dignity, compassion,and respect for one another."
Ravi is accused of using a webcam to secretly live stream Clementi during a sexual encounter with another man on Sept. 19 while viewing it in Wei's dorm room on Rutger's Piscataway campus.
Ravi attempted it a second time on Sept. 21, authorities said, and posted on his Twitter account: "Anyone with iChat, I dare you to video chat me between the hours of 9:30 and 12. Yes it's happening again."
Related photos:
Previous coverage:
• Gov. Christie calls Tyler Clementi's suicide an 'unspeakable tragedy'
• Tyler Clementi's family says Rutgers freshman committed suicide after video of sexual encounter
• Message board thread on gay website parallels situation of Tyler Clementi
• A.M. Top News: Tyler Clementi's death sends shock waves across Rutgers, N.J.
• Rutgers student's suicide shows dire consequence, ease of bullying in digital age
• Tyler Clementi, Rutgers freshman, commits suicide after secret broadcast of sex encounter
• Tyler Clementi left Facebook status 'Jumping off gw bridge sorry' after Rutgers dorm sex hidden video
• Rutgers freshman is presumed dead in suicide after roommate broadcast gay sexual encounter online
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