Lawyers: No Sexual Content in Clementi Broadcast

Lawyers and friends of the two former Rutgers University students charged with invasion of privacy for secretly broadcasting the gay encounter of Tyler Clementi, who later committed suicide, say that captured images were only viewed on one computer and did not show the men having sex.

According to The Star-Ledger, attorneys and friends of Dharun Ravi and Molly Wei, both 18, have come forward to discuss what the two students saw. The students, school officials, and investigators have refused to discuss the contents of the Internet feed.

“The students watched the live internet feed on Wei’s computer in her room, the attorneys and friends said,” The Star-Ledger reported. “It showed Clementi and another man hugging and kissing, but nothing more, they said.”

Rubin Sinins, an attorney for Wei, said, "I’m unaware of any evidence of sexual contact. The statute defining sexual contact refers to nudity and private parts, and, to my knowledge, nothing like that was seen. I’m also unaware of any evidence that any video was recorded, reproduced or disseminated in any way."

The Star-Ledger reports that Wei confided to friends that she and Dharun, who was Clementi’s roommate, watched two minutes of the secret webcam from her room on September 19. She described the man who visited Clementi as “kind of sketchy,” with ragged clothes and a scruffy beard.

Ravi posted news of the encounter, and another attempt to view Clementi on September 21, which failed, on his Twitter account. Clementi filed a complaint and a request for a room change on September 22, the day he jumped off the George Washington Bridge.

Ravi and Wei have withdrawn from Rutgers University.