Tyler Clementi, Taped Having Sex, Kills Self

A college student jumped to his death off a bridge a day after authorities say two classmates surreptitiously recorded him having sex with a man in his dorm room and broadcast it over the Internet.

Rutgers University freshman Tyler Clementi jumped from the George Washington Bridge last week, said his family's attorney, Paul Mainardi. Police recovered a man's body Wednesday afternoon in the Hudson River just north of the bridge, and authorities were trying to determine if it was Clementi's.

ABC News and The Star-Ledger of Newark reported that Clementi left on his Facebook page on Sept. 22 a note that read: "Jumping off the gw bridge sorry." On Wednesday, his Facebook page was accessible only to friends.

Teens Face Charges Over Sex Tape

Two Rutgers freshmen have been charged with illegally taping the 18-year-old Clementi having sex and broadcasting the images via an Internet chat program.

Steven Goldstein, chairman of the gay rights group Garden State Equality, said in a statement Wednesday that his group considers Clementi's death a hate crime.

"We are heartbroken over the tragic loss of a young man who, by all accounts, was brilliant, talented and kind," Goldstein said. "And we are sickened that anyone in our society, such as the students allegedly responsible for making the surreptitious video, might consider destroying others' lives as a sport."

It wasn't immediately clear what Clementi's sexual orientation was, and a call asking the family's lawyer about it was not immediately returned Wednesday.

On the Rutgers campus straddling New Brunswick and Piscataway, there was dismay over Clementi's death and the circumstances that led to it.

Freshman Jonathan Pena said he was in a dorm lounge on Sept. 19 when someone came in and mentioned the sex webcast happening that night. "I knew him as a nice kid," Pena said. "I didn't know why anyone was bothering him with that."

Rutgers president Richard McCormick sent a letter to the campus, saying school officials were "profoundly saddened by this report."

"If the charges are true, these actions gravely violate the university's standards of decency and humanity," McCormick wrote.

News of Clementi's death came the same day that Rutgers, the flagship university in a state known for ruthless mob bosses, petulant reality show stars and cutthroat drivers, launched a two-year project to get people on campus to behave better.

Under the aegis of that project, students, faculty and other employees have been encouraged to attend a series of lectures, presentations and discussions on civility, exploring such topics as how cell phones, iPods and other gadgets affect civility, and sportsmanship for athletes and fans.

One of the defendants, Dharun Ravi, was Clementi's roommate, Mainardi told The Star-Ledger. The other defendant is Molly Wei. Ravi and Wei could face up to five years in prison if convicted.

A lawyer for Ravi, of Plainsboro, did not immediately return a message seeking comment. It was unclear whether Wei, of Princeton, had retained a lawyer.

The Middlesex County prosecutor's office charged the pair, both 18, with two counts apiece of invasion of privacy, claiming they used the webcam to view and transmit a live image of Clementi on Sept. 19. Ravi was also charged with two more counts of invasion of privacy alleging he tried to transmit another encounter of Clementi on Sept. 21.

Collecting or viewing sexual images without consent is a fourth-degree crime. Transmitting them is a third-degree crime with a maximum prison term of five years.

A Twitter account belonging to Ravi was recently deleted, but in a cached version retained through Google he sent a message on Sept. 19: "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, he wrote on Twitter: "Anyone with iChat, I dare you to video chat me between the hours of 9:30 and 12. Yes it's happening again."

Clementi's driver's license and Rutgers ID were found in a wallet left on the bridge on Sept. 22 after two witnesses saw someone jump from it, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because Clementi's body hadn't been positively identified.

Mainardi issued a statement Wednesday confirming Clementi's suicide.

"Tyler was a fine young man, and a distinguished musician," Mainardi said. "The family is heartbroken beyond words."

Ed Schmiedecke, the recently retired music director at Ridgewood High School, where Clementi graduated earlier this year, said Clementi was a violinist whose life revolved around music.

"He was a terrific musician, and a very promising, hardworking young man."

On campus and off, Clementi's story gained sympathy after word of his death spread.

More than 100 people attended a campus rally Wednesday night, with some lying on the ground and chanting things like, "If my dorm's not safe, Rutgers isn't safe."

"Had he been in bed with a woman, this would not have happened," said Lauren Felton, a 21-year-old student from Warren. "He wouldn't have been outed via an online broadcast and his privacy would have been respected and he might still have his life."

A Facebook group, In Honor of Tyler Clementi, was quickly set up and by Wednesday had drawn nearly 3,000 people, many of whom posted remembrances of Clementi or expressions of shock over the death of the young man pictured playing his violin.

"You will never be forgotten Tyler," Samantha Hoffer commented. "I am so glad to have known such an amazing and talented person in my life. Rest in peace."

Georges Richa, a Rutgers freshman from New Brunswick, said he got to know Clementi a bit during dorm room conversations that last until 3 a.m. and are a rite of the earliest days of college.

"I wish I could have been more of an ally," he said. "I've been arguing about this for days" with others on the hall.

Gay rights groups say Clementi's death is the latest example of a long-standing problem: young people who kill themselves because they're bullied about being gay - regardless of whether they are.

Last week, Dan Savage, a columnist at the Seattle weekly newspaper The Stranger, launched the It Gets Better Project, a YouTube channel where gay, lesbian and bisexual adults share the turmoil they experienced when they were younger - and show how their lives have gotten better.

In response to Clementi's death and others, the group Parents, Families & Friends of Lesbians and Gays said it would issue a "call to action" on the topic.

New York Police Department harbor officers recovered the body of a white man, clad only in pants, wearing a watch and without identification after a parks department employee spotted a body floating in the river, police said. The body was taken to the city medical examiner's office; authorities hoped to use the watch as identification.

[kjunrj01]

Prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law? The law is what protected these criminals in the first place. Their skin should be peeled from their bodies and then they should be covered in hungry ants and the remaining cartillage dropped into the sewage to rot forever.

[san850]

Five gay teens have committed suicide as a result of bullying in the last TWO WEEKS. RIP Asher Brown, Seth Walsh, Billy Lucas, Tyler Clementi, and Raymond Chase. We failed you. We failed you by allowing messages of hate and intolerance towards gay people to flourish in our society. Please think about this folks: You don't have to understand or approve of homosexuality. That is your right. What is not your right is to treat gay people as something less than human. Straight or gay, God made us all. And straight or gay, everyone deserves kindness and respect. We all need to speak out more often against this type of intolerance.

[jkur]

I think this is not only a hate crime but also an invasion of privacy, everybody knows that you should not video someone in an intamate moment whether they are straight, gay or even cheating because these things are private. I hope these two students get the max to set an example that this behavior is not acceptable with todays technology. These two students were also smart enough to get into a good college they should have known better, even kindergaden students know not to walk into the bathroom when someone is in there. There is enough people on the internet who are exobitinist and want people to see them and those who want their privacy should be respected, I straight and would also be very disturbed over this if it happened to me.

[httpwwwnews]

These two are not being prosecuted for murder; rather for invasion of privacy. But, I disagree with you askagain about it not being murder. I firmly believe that it's a hate crime as well. The young man that turned on his webcam, to share his roommate's private moments with the world via the internet, did so because Tyler had a different orientation than he does. He wanted to mock him, to cause embarassment and shame. I wonder how the two would feel if someone filmed them in an intimate moment then sent it out for their peers and the rest of the world to scoff at? Would they want to die too?

[amulette]

If these two pieces of human trash have even a shred of conscience I hope this sick-joke of theirs and what it has led to haunts them to their very last breath.

[Doctor_Bones]

Why wasn't this a double murder-suicide?

[bobkat258]

How very, very sad. I am so sorry for Tyler and his family. I hope those who prpetrated this crime will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

[ianlou]

Sad Story.

The irony is, if he had not committed suicide only a few people would be aware of the video.

[betopless]

Not True! More people would have known about the tape because one, it was being broadcasted through the computer. 2) Once you put something on the computer, it kind of stays there and more and more people would have seen that video. So, the sad thing would be if the people responsible for this, walks away without any recourse, that would be sad!

[jclark7613]

This such a sad story. Don't know him but still brought me to tears. You send your children to school for a education not to be violated. The two that was involved with airing that video should face murder charges.

[askagain]

I see your poinr but the two students who filmed the suicide victim did not murder him. People act in a number of different ways under stress. Another person might have shot the offenders or beat them up or sued them in court. Strange as it may seem, still another person might be to be proud of having this thing put on the internet. What these two did in despicable and of very poor taste and there should be consequences. However, the fellow who committed suicide is responsible for his own suicide. I really do feel bad;y for the student, his parents, and his friends and wish the student had handled this horrible thing differently.