PRINCETON AREA: Ravi convicted on all 15 counts in Rutgers webcam spy trial

   Dharun Ravi, the former Rutgers University student from Plainsboro accused of using a webcam to spy on his gay roommate, was convicted of invasion of privacy and all 15 counts against him today (Friday).
   Mr. Ravi, 20, shook his head after hearing the guilty verdicts. He and his lawyers left the courthouse without comment.
   He could get up to 10 years in prison and could be deported to his native India after a trial that drew national attention because his former roommate committed suicide by jumping off the George Washington Bridge days after learning of the webcam spying.
   New Jersey established some of the strictest school anti-bullying laws in part because of the death of the roommate, Tyler Clementi.
   Mr. Ravi had been offered a plea bargain that would have put him on probation and required community service but he and lawyers rejected it, choosing instead to take their chances at a trial.
   Mr. Ravi was not charged with causing Mr. Clementi’s death and prosecutors were forbidden from arguing that was the case.
   The defense presented a case that portrayed Mr. Ravi as a teen who simply made a mistake by using the webcam to view his roommate kissing another man.
   Prosecutors said Mr. Ravi set up the webcam in September 2010, tweeted about it and tried to catch Mr. Clementi again two days later. A half-dozen students were believed to have seen the live video of the kissing, including Molly Wei of West Windsor, a friend of Mr. Ravi’s.
   Ms. Wei, who watched “a few seconds” of the romantic encounter, took the stand in the early days of the trial and accepted a plea bargain from prosecutors in return for her testimony.
   Rutgers said in a statement: “This sad incident should make us all pause to recognize the importance of civility and mutual respect in the way we live, work and communicate with others.”
   More then 30 witnesses took the stand and 100 pieces of evidence were entered in the case during the 12-day trial.
   The jury began deliberating Wednesday around 11 a.m. They deliberated all day Thursday, started again on Friday morning and reached their verdict around noon.