Tyler Clementi's date testifies at trial of Rutgers' roommate Dharun Ravi
Fri. March 2, 2012 9:56 PM by GoPride.com News Staff
New Brunswick, New Jersey -
The mystery man who was with Rutgers student Tyler Clementi when Clementi's roommate, Dharun Ravi, used a webcam to spy on him, testified on Friday.
Ravi is accused of bias intimidation (a hate crime) and invasion of privacy in the case. Ravi watched Clementi and the man, known only as M.B., make out in Ravi's and Clementi's dorm room over a webcam. A few days later, after requesting a change of roommates, Clementi committed suicide by jumping off a bridge.
The prosecution claims that Ravi was homophobic, spied on his roommate because he was homophobic, and drove his roommate to suicide.
The defense claims that Ravi actually liked Clementi and that Ravi was using the webcam to watch him with M.B., to make sure he was okay.
M.B. testified that he had met Clementi online, and that the night they were spied on, he did notice the webcam.
"Being in a compromising position and seeing a camera lens just kind of stuck out. I just noticed it because I happened to glance over," M.N said. "There was a camera lens pointing directly at me."
The man, who is now 32, said he enjoyed being with Clementi and was looking forward to seeing him again. He said they met on the website Adam4Adam, and that he didn't know Clementi's last name until he saw the story about his suicide in the paper.
Although Ravi's attorneys had made much of witness testimony that M.B. was "scruffy" and "creepy" looking, he appeared with short hair and in a neat suit. The judge did not allow his photo to be taken and did not allow his name to be used, since he too is considered a victim.
This week, resident assistant Raahi Grover also testified about the night that Clementi came to him, demanding a new roommate. Grover read aloud from the log he kept and had passed along to dorm management: "Tyler prefers some sort of roommate switch ASAP and prefers some sort of punishment for Dharun Ravi. Tyler is quite upset and feels uncomfortable."
Ravi is accused of bias intimidation (a hate crime) and invasion of privacy in the case. Ravi watched Clementi and the man, known only as M.B., make out in Ravi's and Clementi's dorm room over a webcam. A few days later, after requesting a change of roommates, Clementi committed suicide by jumping off a bridge.
The prosecution claims that Ravi was homophobic, spied on his roommate because he was homophobic, and drove his roommate to suicide.
The defense claims that Ravi actually liked Clementi and that Ravi was using the webcam to watch him with M.B., to make sure he was okay.
M.B. testified that he had met Clementi online, and that the night they were spied on, he did notice the webcam.
"Being in a compromising position and seeing a camera lens just kind of stuck out. I just noticed it because I happened to glance over," M.N said. "There was a camera lens pointing directly at me."
The man, who is now 32, said he enjoyed being with Clementi and was looking forward to seeing him again. He said they met on the website Adam4Adam, and that he didn't know Clementi's last name until he saw the story about his suicide in the paper.
Although Ravi's attorneys had made much of witness testimony that M.B. was "scruffy" and "creepy" looking, he appeared with short hair and in a neat suit. The judge did not allow his photo to be taken and did not allow his name to be used, since he too is considered a victim.
This week, resident assistant Raahi Grover also testified about the night that Clementi came to him, demanding a new roommate. Grover read aloud from the log he kept and had passed along to dorm management: "Tyler prefers some sort of roommate switch ASAP and prefers some sort of punishment for Dharun Ravi. Tyler is quite upset and feels uncomfortable."