Prosecutors Want to Keep ID of Man with Clementi a Secret

The man captured on camera in an intimate encounter with Tyler Clementi is known only by the initials “M.B.,” and prosecutors in the case against the roommate of the Rutgers University student who committed suicide last year want to keep his identity anonymous.

The Newark Star-Ledger reports on papers the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office filed Monday in the case against Dharun Ravi. The prosecutor asked Superior Court Judge Glenn Berman to issue a protective order to prevent M.B.’s name, address, and birthday from being released.

“The prosecutor’s request came in response to a motion filed earlier this month by attorneys for Dharun Ravi, Clementi’s roommate,” reports the Star-Ledger. “Ravi, 19, of Plainsboro, is charged with invasion of privacy and bias intimidation for allegedly using a webcam in his Piscataway dorm room to spy on Clementi and M.B. last September.”

Clementi, an accomplished violinist from Ridgewood, killed himself by jumping off the George Washington Bridge last September just weeks after the start of his freshman year. He experienced the cyberbullying in the days immediately prior to his suicide.

Attorneys for Ravi maintain that M.B. holds information relevant to their defense and should be made available for interview with his identity disclosed. Prosecutors counter that the man, whom Clementi described in online chats as uncomfortable with his sexual orientation, did not expect to be outed during the investigation.

Ravi could face up to 10 years in prison. The next court date is set for September 9.