Dharun Ravi pleads guilty in Rutgers webcam case

NEW BRUNSWICK - A former Rutgers University student whose roommate killed himself after being captured on a webcam kissing another man has pleaded guilty to attempted invasion of privacy.

Thursday’s plea from Dharun Ravi, 24, a former Plainsboro resident, comes after an appeals court last month threw out a 15-count conviction against him in a case that stemmed from the 2010 death of 18-year-old Tyler Clementi.

The plea, which includes no additional penalties, also officially ends the case involving Ravi.

READ: Conviction overturned in Rutgers spying case

READ: Dharun Ravi sentenced to 30-day jail term

READ: Tyler Clementi's mother criticizes Rep. Scott Garrett at LGBT rally

Clementi died by suicide on Sept. 22, 2010, days after Ravi, his freshman roommate, live streamed him in a sexual act with another man.  Clementi's death started a national conversation about the treatment of young gays, and his parents, Joe and Jane Clementi, later founded the Tyler Clementi Foundation to combat online and offline bullying, harassment and humiliation.

In a statement issued after the hearing, Jane and Joe Clementi said they have learned a lot through the process of pleas, convictions, time served and appeals.

"We learned at the trial that what happened to Tyler was a lot worse than what was initially related to us. We have learned that our legislators need to make constitutionally valid and clear laws. And we have learned that witnesses or bystanders need to become upstanders for those in our society like Tyler, who cannot stand up for themselves," the statement said.

"We call on all young people and parents to think about their behavior and not be bystanders to bullying, harassment or humiliation. Interrupt it, report it and reach out to victims to offer support. If this had happened in Tyler's case our lives might be very different today."

In court Thursday, Ravi admitted that he was responsible for attempting to activate a web camera in his Rutgers University dorm room to spy on his roommate, Clementi, and another man, according to Middlesex County Prosecutor Andrew C. Carey. Ravi pleaded guilty to attempted invasion of privacy in connection with attempting to activate the camera on Sept. 21, 2010, believing that his roommate and another man were going to engage in sex.

Ravi also said he invited other people to watch the activity, adding that he believed sexual activity was going to occur based on what he had observed two days earlier. Ravi was not charged in Clementi's death.

The plea, negotiated by Middlesex County Deputy First Assistant Prosecutor Christie Bevacqua, officially ends the case against Ravi. He was sentenced Thursday to probation plus 30 days in jail, and won’t serve any additional jail time under the plea agreement. He had faced up to 10 years in prison.

The plea was entered during a hearing before Middlesex County Superior Court Judge Joseph Paone, who reimposed the original sentence, noting all the terms have already been met.

In 2012, Ravi was convicted of 15 counts and sentenced to 30 days in the Middlesex County Adult Corrections Center in North Brunswick, placed on probation for three years and ordered to serve 300 hours of community service and participate in cyberbullying counselling. He also was fined $10,000.

He satisfied the penalties and served the sentence, according to the prosecutor's office. He was released from the county jail after 20 days for good behavior.

Last month, his conviction was overturned by the Appellate Division of Superior Court and several bias intimidation charges were dismissed because of a change in state law. A new trial was ordered.

According to the prosecutor's office, if the case had been retried and Ravi convicted again, the law would prohibit the court from imposing a sentence harsher than the penalties from the original sentence.

The prosecutor's office filed a motion for clarification and reconsideration because of a disagreement with the appellate division's characterization that the prosecutor's office conceded that all bias charges should be overturned based on a recent court case. The appellate division reject the motion on Oct. 11 but corrected the record.

"Reaching the plea agreement was a reasonable way to resolve the case in view of the appellate court decision, which dismissed a series of criminal bias charges that had been leveled against the defendant by a grand jury in Middlesex County," Carey said. "Our sympathies remain with the victim's family, which continues to work to protect our at-risk youth."

Although Rutgers has a history of supporting LGBTQ students dating to the 1969 founding of the Homophile League, the Ravi case led to other changes.

In 2011, Rutgers implemented a number of housing initiatives such as a gender neutral option that provides upper-class students with the opportunity to select a known roommate of any gender; a special interest section called Rainbow Perspectives for any student interested in exploring LGBTQ issues outside the classroom, and a roommate matching option for freshmen interested in living with a member of the LGBTQ community, according to E.J. Miranda, Rutgers' director of university news and media relations.

Two years ago, Rutgers implemented a preferred name system that allows transgender and gender-nonconforming students to have their preferred name used in class rosters, course discussion sites and grading systems. The student health insurance plan also began covering transition-related services for transgender and gender-nonconforming students that year, Miranda said.

The Center for Social Justice Education and LGBTQ community continues to look at ways to address the needs of LGBTQ students.

This year, Rutgers received a top score from the Campus Pride Climate Index, which measures services and activities for LGBTQ students. The school has been named among the top 25 Most LGBTQ-friendly institutions in the country for each of the last three years, he said.

Additional information about the Tyler Clementi Foundation is available at www.TylerClementi.org.

Staff Writer Suzanne Russell: 732-565-7335; srussell@mycentraljersey.com