NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J., March 6 (UPI) -- Text messages by a former Rutgers University student about using a webcam to record his roommate's same-sex encounters were read by a New Brunswick, N.J., jury.
The messages were from Dharun Ravi, accused of spying on his gay roommate, Tyler Clementi, during a sexual encounter, to a friend in which he said he saw Clementi kiss a man, The Daily Targum, Rutger's student newspaper reported Tuesday.
In his text messages, Ravi told his friend, Michelle Huang, how he would use his computer's webcam to record Clementi with another man. He also alerted other people via Twitter about the encounter being viewable because of the webcam.
Clementi jumped from the George Washington Bridge to his death three days after Ravi used a Web camera to record him cuddling with a man in their Rutgers University dorm room Sept. 19, 2010. Clementi's suicide sparked a national dialogue on anti-gay bullying.
Ravi faces charges of invasion of privacy, bias intimidation and hindering apprehension. He is not charged in Clementi's death.
Douglas Rager, a former Rutgers University Police Department detective, among the officers handling the invasion of privacy investigation charge against Ravi, said the web camera was "was directly angled at Tyler's bed."
Prosecutors charge that Ravi used the webcam to embarrass his gay roommate, but defense attorneys countered their client was concerned about the security of his possessions in the dorm room.
The trial began Feb. 24 and is expected to last another two to three weeks.
