Lawyer defends webcam spying student as a kid
Source: Agencies |
March 14, 2012, Wednesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
THE lawyer for a former Rutgers University student accused of using a webcam to spy on his roommate said that his client is a kid, not a criminal.
Steven Altman began his closing arguments in the trial of Indian-born Dharun Ravi, saying his client was surprised to turn on his webcam and see his roommate in an intimate situation with another man.
He emphasized that there was no recording, no broadcast and no YouTube video of the encounter. Ravi faces 15 criminal counts, including invasion of privacy and bias intimidation. His roommate, Tyler Clementi, committed suicide by jumping off the George Washington Bridge in September 2010, days after the alleged spying.
Prosecutors are expected to make their closing arguments later in the day. Jurors are expected to start deliberating today. They heard about 30 witnesses over 12 days of testimony. They did not hear testimony from Ravi himself, though they did see video of a statement he gave to police.
There's no dispute that Ravi saw a snippet of video streamed live from his webcam to the laptop of a friend in her dorm room on September 19, 2010.
The friend, Molly Wei, said Clementi and his guest - identified in the trial only by the initials M.B - were fully clothed and kissing at the time. Ravi posted a Twitter message that night that concluded: "I saw him making out with a dude. Yay."
Later, Wei showed some other students. They said the men had removed their shirts, and that the webstream was turned off after mere seconds. Wei was initially charged, but later entered a pretrial intervention program that could allow her to avoid jail time and a criminal record if she complies with a list of conditions. Two days after the first incident, Clementi asked for the room alone again.
This time, Ravi tweeted: "Yes, it's happening again" and "dared" followers to connect with his computer to video chat. There was testimony that he told one friend that there was going to be a "viewing party" at Rutgers.
But there was no webcast.
Steven Altman began his closing arguments in the trial of Indian-born Dharun Ravi, saying his client was surprised to turn on his webcam and see his roommate in an intimate situation with another man.
He emphasized that there was no recording, no broadcast and no YouTube video of the encounter. Ravi faces 15 criminal counts, including invasion of privacy and bias intimidation. His roommate, Tyler Clementi, committed suicide by jumping off the George Washington Bridge in September 2010, days after the alleged spying.
Prosecutors are expected to make their closing arguments later in the day. Jurors are expected to start deliberating today. They heard about 30 witnesses over 12 days of testimony. They did not hear testimony from Ravi himself, though they did see video of a statement he gave to police.
There's no dispute that Ravi saw a snippet of video streamed live from his webcam to the laptop of a friend in her dorm room on September 19, 2010.
The friend, Molly Wei, said Clementi and his guest - identified in the trial only by the initials M.B - were fully clothed and kissing at the time. Ravi posted a Twitter message that night that concluded: "I saw him making out with a dude. Yay."
Later, Wei showed some other students. They said the men had removed their shirts, and that the webstream was turned off after mere seconds. Wei was initially charged, but later entered a pretrial intervention program that could allow her to avoid jail time and a criminal record if she complies with a list of conditions. Two days after the first incident, Clementi asked for the room alone again.
This time, Ravi tweeted: "Yes, it's happening again" and "dared" followers to connect with his computer to video chat. There was testimony that he told one friend that there was going to be a "viewing party" at Rutgers.
But there was no webcast.
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