Rutgers Student Believed To Have Committed Suicide After Classmates Allegedly Recorded Him In Gay Sexual Encounter

UPDATE 5:46 p.m. EST: The Clementi family's lawyer, Paul Minardi, has released a statement confirming that Tyler committed suicide:

"Tyler was a fine young man, and a distinguished musician. The family is heartbroken beyond words. They respectfully request that they be given time to grieve their great loss and that their privacy at this painful time be respected by all," he said, according to ABC.

ABC also reports that Clementi posted an update to his Facebook page on Sept. 22 at 8:42 p.m. that read "Jumping off the gw bridge sorry."

A Facebook page in memory of Clementi has more than 450 supporters as of this update.

**Scroll down for video report**

A Rutgers University freshman is believed to have taken his own life last week shortly after he was broadcast engaging in sexual activity with another man.

According to WPIX, officials believe the student, who the New York Daily News has identified as 18-year-old Tyler Clementi, jumped from the George Washington Bridge last week. His car was found nearby with his computer and cell phone inside.

WPIX reports that the Clementi's alleged roommate, Dharun Ravi, and another first-year student, Molly Wei, were charged with invasion of privacy for secretly leaving a camera in his bedroom on Sept. 19 and posting footage of an ensuing sexual encounter on the internet.

In New Jersey, it is a fourth-degree crime to collect images showing sexual content or nudity without the subject's consent, and it is a third-degree crime to transmit the relevant content.

Ravi and Wei, both 18, have been charged with two counts of invasion of privacy for the events that transpired on Sept. 19; Ravi received two more for attempting to record another of the Clementi's encounters on Sept. 21.

According to Student Activism, Ravi allegedly posted to Twitter about taping Clementi's sexual encounter: "Roommate asked for the room till midnight. I went into molly's room and turned on my webcam. I saw him making out with a dude. Yay." Two days later, Ravi tweeted: "Anyone with iChat, I dare you to video chat me between the hours of 9:30 and 12. Yes it's happening again."(Gawker has the screenshots of Ravi's Twitter feed, which has since been deleted.)

Ravi and Wei have both been released from police custody, Ravi on $25,000 bail and Wei on her own recognizance. According to the Star-Ledger, Rutgers officials are likely to take disciplinary action against the students. As Rutgers spokeswoman Sandra Lanman said, "The university takes these matters seriously and has policies to deal with student behavior."

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 contacted them.

WATCH: WPIX report

 

Comments

[hillsarealive2010]

02:21 PM on 10/09/2010

Ok I’m going to receive alot of backlash for this but here it goes.

Pamela Anderson, Britney Spears, Paris Hilton, Kim Kadashian and even Kendra...are all celebrities who have had tapes of them engaging in the most intimate act exposed to the word to see. Many of these celebrities have chosen to make this situation a personal benefit and have chosen to profit from the tapes released.

The taping of Tyler is not a bullying issue, its not even a homophobic issue (the mere suggestion of that is ridiculous)...many straight people have had very private images of themselves exposed on You Tube. This unfortunate scenario could happen to anybody irrespective of their sexuality and we all know that but choose to ignore the obvious.

The death of Tyler is not the responsibility of those who taped him, they were reckless, thoughtless and inconsiderate p***** at best but that doesn’t make them murderers. He chose to make that fatal decision and those who have been in the same situation many times before didn’t.

At best this is a civil case. The privacy of Tyler was completely compromised, this is true, but what was criminal about those actions? It was a complete invasion of his privacy and Tyler’s family should be appropriately compensated for the this unfortunately incident.

[AliciaCote]

06:33 PM on 10/14/2010

The taping of Tyler is DEFINITELY a bullying issue. How could you say it's not? Even if Tyler was straight it would still be a bullying issue. It wasn't just the fact that Ravi taped Tyler, he then posted things on his twitter about it. This obviously means he wants to make a fool out of Tyler and let people know what happened in their room that night.

Also, it is a homophobic issue because people would have not made such a big deal about this scandal if Tyler was having sexual relations with a women that night. Sure, celebrities and other people have made sex tapes to "promote" themselves, but this was AT THEIR OWN CHOICE. Tyler did not have a choice in this matter, he was being spied on at the least.

Ravi and Wei should be put on trial for murder. You mentioned how it was Tyler's choice if he jumped or not, but was it Tyler's choice if he was taped that night? And do you really think he would have felt the need to take his life if that video was never made?

[iman927]

01:34 PM on 11/01/2010

I don't think anyone (or, at least, any rational person who knows the definition of murder) is arguing that these two are murderers.

But these two probably will lose on an invasion of privacy claim.

[Janis in Reno]

03:41 PM on 10/08/2010

At the very least, one would hope they'll be expelled. As for being talented and smart? Yeah. They probably are. And, given this stunt, they're clearly also selfish, abusive, sneaky, cruel and warped.

[Venicelady]

11:02 PM on 10/07/2010

Sincere condolences to the Clementi family on the loss of their son, Tyler.

[suzjazz]

10:40 PM on 10/04/2010

I hope the judge throws the book at them. 5 years in prison will give them time to contemplate their evil deed, although no punishment can compensate the parents and family of Tyler Clementi.

[cobraxus]

01:02 PM on 10/04/2010

I'm still waiting for the rightwingers to come out in defense of Ravi and Wei.maybe Michelle Malkin could nominate them for The Jean Kirkpatrick Academic Freedom Award they give out at CPAC.

[Venicelady]

11:01 PM on 10/07/2010

How could anyone that has a shred of decency defend the actions of what these two Rutgers students did? Why does everything here have to be political, even in the face of this tragedy?

[zbig]

11:52 AM on 10/04/2010

Dharun Ravi and Molly Wei should have their whole lives videotaped for all the world to see and we can twitter what terribly and ugly human beings these two are. Sick!

[Gigi 01]

01:55 AM on 10/03/2010

I don't know what to say , this is very sad.What they did was just really sick.If they didn't like what that poor kid did they could have just asked him to take it else where.
There are no excuses and sometimes something like this can drive someone to end their life.

I was bullied at school and it made me think of suicide and nothing like this happend to me like it did to him.

And even though I am straight I can imagine that no matter if your friends and parents are accepting of your sexuality , there are people who are not and this could have made his life hell.

[Chelsey Blanco]

11:00 PM on 10/04/2010

Riqht i think itss bull crapp that they hadd nothinqq better to do but to makee funn of the wayy someone is! ... All thiss hate aqainst qay peoplee really needss to stop! i mean what if they were and someone did it to them i dont think they would like that!

[Chrisjsamp]

01:33 PM on 10/01/2010

Interesting note - I posted a comment here saying I thought the videotaping of Clementi was a mean-spirited and unethical act and expressed condolences to the family. Interestingly, that comment was screened and deleted by HP moderators. Weird. Are they trying to present a particular public view on this? I wonder if this comment will be screened out as well...

[Ishmael Smith]

02:26 AM on 10/01/2010

First of all i send condolenses to the family. But think about it ,it takes more then that for someone to take their own life.. Some video of someone making out isnt going to make u jump off a bridge. There probably were other things which were bothering him.. Im not out , people found out about me and my bf and posted it all over the web, and my parents seen it, and it was hell eversince then with them. But i have more things in life to live for then to care what others think say or do about me.. I wish this young man had someone to talk to .. All it takes is givng kind words and a shoulder when needed to someone..

[Judy363]

05:26 AM on 10/01/2010

Well, maybe he had family issues. Meaning, maybe his family did not know he was gay, or he did not want them to know and he thought they would find out through the video. So unbelievably tragic because he could and would have been fully accepted, loved and encouraged to be who he was if he was in a school that was more tolerant, accepting and progressive, they do exist. Horrible, horrible story.

[yomamasmama]

01:00 PM on 10/01/2010

Sensitivity is relative. To say that you personally would never do such a thing is great but that doesn't mean it's true for him.

[Polyphonic79]

11:22 AM on 10/08/2010

Totally agree.

[GordonNYC]

11:38 PM on 09/30/2010

Ravi and Wei should be charged with a hate crime. No video would have been posted if he was with a girl. The intent was to embarass the young man because he was gay. It's a sad tragedy.

[Hontas Farmer]

02:43 AM on 10/01/2010

I think we have seen enough unwelcome sex tapes posted online to know that a womans privacy is not sacred. Erin Andrews anyone remember her and those video's of her?

[mowgo]

04:14 AM on 10/01/2010

Yes, this type of this has been done to women as well. But in considering if THIS incident is a hate crime you have to look at Dharun's motive for broadcasting Tyler's sexual encounter. If Dharun did it specifically because Tyler was gay, then it is a hate crime.

[Chrisjsamp]

11:28 PM on 09/30/2010

What mean-spirited, unethical, miserable kids. Maybe you could call it a "prank" if they were 8 years old, but at their age, it was just a nasty, cruel attempt to humiliate a fellow human being. My heart goes out to the family of the Clemente family.

[MarcAdams]

09:39 PM on 09/30/2010

I will be speaking at Rutgers University on Monday Oct 4 and will be addressing this subject. http://www.meetmarcadams.com/mma/tylerclementi.html

[Biendiosa]

11:48 PM on 09/30/2010

Marc, blessings to you for doing this work...As a Recovering FundamentaIist, I am happy that you survived and are reaching out to others.

[Judy363]

05:31 AM on 10/01/2010

Stay strong Marc, sending you some strength, you are not alone in this.

[Fontaine J]

09:07 PM on 09/30/2010

First of all, they're extremely unlikely to get prosecuted for murder or manslaughter There's no way it can be proven that they had forethought this kid would commit suicide. In fact, I'm quite sure it never in a million years would have crossed their tiny little minds, just like it never crosses any bully's mind what damage they might do.

Secondly, whether this kid was having an intimate gay moment, taking a bonghit, clipping his toenails or intently reading a book, he most certainly has a right to privacy and not have his actions be secretly recorded AND broadcast for the world to see. In that sense, his being gay is irrelevant, however it seems pretty clear that the intent was to humiliate him because he was kissing a boy and not a girl.

Third- all the people on here who DEFEND these soulless, idiot "pranksters" are exactly the type of people who create soulless, idiot "pranksters". Let's hope none of these people are parents or ever will become parents.

[Hontas Farmer]

04:10 PM on 10/01/2010

I agree with most of your first two points.

However it remains to be proven this was because the kid was gay. So far the only quote we have from Ravi on the gayness of his roomate is "I think I just found out my roomate was gay". Therefore he did not already know in the first instance and was not, at that time guilty of any sort of hate crime. In the second instance he never mentioned his "gay roomate". Homophobes are never discrete like that, at least not 18 year old freshman like he was.

I don't know about anyone else. When I see a high tech lynching about to take place I have to say something. Would that more people spoke up in the past the low tech kind would not have happened so much.

[Waldimore]

08:55 PM on 09/30/2010

This is what gets me: last time I checked, there are skintillions of exhibitionists online clamoring to be watched as they get it on. What is it about this generation of mean-spirited kids that needs to hunt those who are not so inclined? Why is such behavior pawned off as a prank? Aren't these the same kids that go batschit when their parents nose around their rooms, in houses that the parents pay for?

[contrarian48]

10:54 PM on 09/30/2010

Heard it before. We were all saints and kids today are"....yadyada" You're angry. Fine, but anger doesn't cure any of this. And your comment to me that was cut, well yes kids do have more freedom than they are capable of handling.

[Michael Horton]

08:06 PM on 09/30/2010

Whether or not Tyler Clementi was closeted or not is irrelevant. Whether or not he had a reasonable expectation of privacy is irrelevant. What is relevant is a gifted, shy young man who meant no harm to anyone was betrayed in a most cruel, heartless, indulgent and disgusting way. He was stabbed in the back by his own roommate, a person in whom he had placed his trust and to whom he had done no harm. He was betrayed by a person so bankrupt in character that he actually enjoyed doing it. There is no way to know for sure why Tyler chose to end his own life. It just could be that it wasn't because he was outed or exposed in the stark and brutal way that he was. It just could be because of the pain he felt as a result of that betrayal of trust.

[Hontas Farmer]

08:56 PM on 09/30/2010

I feel where you are coming from and have faved your heartfelt comment.

Seriously though Betrayal of trust. They were college roommates in the first year this year, they knew each other less than three weeks. There was no trust. The kid wrote about what happened on one website.

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/104095593.html?cmpid=15585797

That news story talks of him writing on a website for gay students about this issue. It even details his postings of face book. Tyler Clementi wrote

"what do you get when you kiss a guy, you get enough germs to catch pneumonia."

Suppose just suppose he committed suicide because he (at least thought) he had contracted HIV/AIDS? If you have ever been through an AIDS scare you know it can be a very stressful thing. Just getting toooo sick after having sex can make one a bit paranoid sometimes. Now that's an explanation for suicide.

[mowgo]

10:10 PM on 09/30/2010

That's a song lyric, "I'll Never Fall In Love Again" Elvis Costello has a version out.


What do you get when you fall in love?
A guy with a pin to burst your bubble
That's what you get for all your trouble
I'll never fall in love again
I'll never fall in love again

What do you get when you kiss a girl
You get enough germs to catch pneumonia
After you do, she'll never phone you
I'll never fall in love again
I'll never fall in love again

Don't tell me what it's all about
'Cause I've been there and I'm glad I'm out
Out of those chains those chains that bind you
That is why I'm here to remind you

What do you get when you give your heart
You get it all broken up and battered
That's what you get, a heart that's shattered
I'll never fall in love again
I'll never fall in love again

Out of those chains those chains that bind you
That is why I'm here to remind you

What do you get when you fall in love?
You only get lies and pain and sorrow
So for at least until tomorrow
I'll never fall in love again
I'll never fall in love again

I'll never fall in love again
I'll never fall in love again

[suzjazz]

10:51 PM on 10/04/2010

Why don't you think that the filming and posting his private life on the internet wasn't a good enough reason for suicide? People seem intent on blaming the victim here, trying to find some other reason he might have committed suicide.
When you are a freshman in college and are assigned a roommate, you have the right to expect them not to invade your privacy. There IS an implied trust. Ravi and Wei knew that what they were doing is terribly wrong. And yes, some people are sensitive enough to be driven to suicide by something like this.