Dharun Ravi shares a laugh with his attorneys during a break in his trial at the Middlesex County Courthouse in New Brunswick, N.J. on Wednesday, March 7, 2012. Ravi,a former Rutgers University student, is accused of using a webcam to spy on his roommate, Tyler Clementi, intimate encounter with another man. Days later Clementi committed suicide. Ravi, 19, faces 15 criminal charges, including invasion of privacy and bias intimidation, a hate crime punishable by up to 10 years in state prison. (AP Photo/The Star-Ledger, John O'Boyle, Pool)Yesterday, jurors heard a video admission from the defendant in the Rutgers University trial that he violated his roommate?s privacy when he secretly set up a Webcam, which caught his roommate engaged in intimate contact with another man. The taped police interview showed Dharun Ravi saying ?Yes? when asked whether he thought he had violated his roommate?s privacy. However, Ravi added, ?I didn?t realize it was something so private. It was my room, too.?
In the nearly hour-long police interview, Ravi said that he didn?t understand that when his roommate, Tyler Clementi, told him he would have a friend over that it meant he wanted privacy. He also said that Clementi?s guest, who testified earlier in the trial, did not acknowledge him when entering the room and gave him a ?bad vibe.?
Although Ravi said in the video that he stopped viewing the Webcam once he could tell the two men were kissing, he did admit to attempting to share the Webcam feed with others by advertising it on Twitter.
?You took that private information and you shared it with the public,? said investigator Michael Daniewicz. ?Is that fair to say??
?That?s fair to say,? Ravi replied.
Daniewicz went on to question Ravi about the Twitter message he sent out the day before Clementi?s death: ?Anyone with iChat, I dare you to video chat with me between the hours of 9:30 and 12. Yes, it?s happening again.?
Ravi said during the interview that he did not actually want others to tap into the video feed that night.
?I said that sarcastically, first of all,? he said. ?And I turned off my computer; I put it to sleep.?
A computer forensics expert testified the previous day at trial that Clementi had saved a copy of the tweet in question prior to killing himself. When asked whether he knew Clementi had seen the message, Ravi said he did not know, but explained that he had deleted the tweet after a dorm resident assistant informed Ravi that Clementi believed he was trying to broadcast it.
Ravi was also questioned about a text he had sent a friend that mentioned others were planning a ?viewing party? to watch the feed.
?I was joking around saying kids were going to have a viewing party,? Ravi said.
Ravi also said that he had turned the Webcam away from Clementi?s bed that night. However detectives said they had found the camera pointed directly at Clementi?s bed.
The interview ended abruptly when Ravi?s father demanded that his son have an attorney present.
In addition to the video testimony, jurors were read two text messages that Ravi sent Clementi after he had heard from a resident assistant that Clementi suspected Ravi was spying on him.
One text read: ?I want to explain what happened. Sunday night when you requested to have someone over I didn?t realize you wanted the room in private. I went to Molly?s room and I was showing her how I set up my computer so I can access it from anywhere. I turned on my camera and saw you in the corner of the screen and I immediately closed it. I felt uncomfortable and guilty of what happened. Obviously I told people what occurred so they could give me advice. Then Tuesday when you requested the room again I wanted to make sure what happened Sunday wouldn?t happen again and not to video chat me from 930 to 12. Just in case, I turned my camera away and put my computer to sleep so even if anyone tried it wouldn?t work. I wanted to make amends for Sunday night. I?m sorry if you heard something distorted and disturbing but I assure you all my actions were good natured.?
Ravi said he waited for a reply throughout the night, but none ever came.
Ravi faces 15 criminal counts, including bias intimidation, a hate crime punishable by up to 10 years in prison. In Sept. 2010, Ravi?s roommate, Tyler Clementi, committed suicide just a day after Ravi?s second attempt to capture him on Webcam and broadcast it online.
The prosecution is expected to rest its case today.
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