Rutgers Spycam Trial: Ravi texted Clementi, "I've known you were gay and have no problem with it"

(CBS) NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. - An attorney for the former Rutgers student accused of spying on his roommate read aloud Wednesday from the final text messages exchanged between Dharun Ravi and his roommate Tyler Clementi.

Pictures: Tyler Clementi
Pictures: Rutgers Spycam Trial

On Sept. 22, 2010 at 8:46 p.m., Ravi attempted to explain and apologize for recording Clementi's intimate encounter with another man on Sept. 19.

"I wanted to make amends for Sunday night," texted Ravi. "I assure you all my actions were good-natured...I've known you were gay and have no problem with it...I don't want your freshman year to be ruined because of a petty misunderstanding."

Later that night, Clementi leapt to his death off the George Washington Bridge.

The text messages were shown to the jury during the testimony of Robert Torrisi, a detective at the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office.

The detective told jurors Wednesday that Ravi sent a pair of Twitter messages on Sept. 22, 2010, after it was believed that Clementi had killed himself.

One read: "Roommate asked for room again. It's happening again. People with ichat, don't you dare videochat me from 9 to 12." The next: "Everyone ignore the last tweet. Stupid drafts."

Jurors already have heard from a string of witnesses that Ravi sent a similar message a day earlier, but instead of saying "Don't you dare videochat me," it told followers, "I dare you to videochat me."

That message is central to the prosecution's case that Ravi attempted to spy on Clementi on Sept. 21 and intimidated him by telling other people to watch.

The later messages are part of prosecutors' contention that he used Twitter, among other means, to cover his tracks by erasing an earlier message, replacing it with a similar but less damaging one, then claiming it was a mistake.

Complete coverage of Tyler Clementi and the Dharun Ravi trial on Crimesider