PISCATAWAY, N.J. (AP) - The death of a Rutgers University
freshman stirred outrage and remorse on campus from classmates who
wished they could have stopped the teen from jumping off a bridge
last week after a recording of him having a sexual encounter with a
man was broadcast online.
"Had he been in bed with a woman, this would not have
happened," said Lauren Felton, 21, of 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."
Gay rights groups say Tyler Clementi's suicide makes him a
national example of a problem they are increasingly working to
combat: young people who kill themselves after being tormented over
their sexuality.
A lawyer for Clementi's family confirmed Wednesday that he had
jumped off the George Washington Bridge last week. 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.
The lawyer has not responded to requests for comment on whether
Clementi was open about his sexual orientation.
Clementi's roommate, Dhraun Ravi, and fellow Rutgers freshman
Molly Wei, both 18, have been charged with invading Clementi's
privacy. Middlesex County prosecutors say the pair used a webcam to
surreptitiously transmit a live image of Clementi having sex on
Sept. 19 and that Ravi tried to webcast a second encounter on Sept.
21, the day before Clementi's suicide.
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.
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.
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.
Even if the young violinist from Ridgewood was not well known at
his new school, his death stirred outrage.