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Defense: Dharun Ravi didn't trust guest

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J., Feb. 29 (UPI) -- A lawyer said Wednesday a New Jersey college student used a Web cam to watch his roommate kissing another man because he did not trust the guest in their room.

Dharun Ravi's lawyer, Steve Altman, said in a New Brunswick court that his client acted childish, not homophobic, when he shared a link to his Web cam so other students could watch Tyler Clementi during a private moment, The (Newark) Star-Ledger reported.

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Clementi jumped off the George Washington Bridge to his death after Ravi used the Web cam twice to tape him cuddling and kissing with a man in their Rutgers University dorm room in September 2010. Ravi is on trial in state court on charges of invasion of privacy, bias intimidation and hindering apprehension.

Fellow student Lokesh Ohja testified Wednesday Ravi used Ohja's computer to get a better view of Clementi's bed.

"He went to his room and he told me to check the angle on his Web cam," Ohaa said. "I went to the computer and he went to his room and he turned his computer screen, and I gave him a thumbs up that it was OK."

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Raahi Grover, Clementi and Ravi's resident assistant at Rutgers' Davidson Hall, testified he filed an incident report that Clementi wanted a room reassignment after he learned of the first Webcam incident.

Clementi e-mailed Grover, saying "I feel that my privacy has been violated. I am extremely uncomfortable sharing a room with someone who has acted in this ... manner."

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