Horrible: Student commits suicide after video of him making out with a guy leaked

[dabrockster]

His body has been found....

Clementi's roommate at New Jersey's Rutgers University and another freshman have been charged with invading the teen's privacy.

Prosecutors say they used a webcam to surreptitiously transmit a live image of Clementi having sex in his dorm room on Sept. 19.

Law enforcement officials tell NBCNewYork that authorities are working to determine whether the suicide was a result of Clementi the being emotionally pushed over the edge by the sex-taping crime.

Dharun Ravi, of Plainsboro, and Molly Wei, of Princeton, both 18, face two counts of invasion of privacy for secretly placing a camera in the victim's dorm room and streaming it live.

Authorities say Ravi, who was Clementi's roommate, faces another two counts of invasion of privacy for allegedly trying to use the hidden camera to tape the same victim in a previous encounter two days before the second one hit the web.

http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local-beat/Hudson-River-Body-Identified-as-Rutgers-Student-104099989.html?dr

[dabrockster]

We don't know why he committed suicide to begin with.

I'm sorry but to me... It seems pretty obvious..

[Surfah]

I'm sorry but to me... It seems pretty obvious..

You should call the investigators then to save them some time.

Law enforcement officials tell NBCNewYork that authorities are working to determine whether the suicide was a result of Clementi being emotionally pushed over the edge by the sex-taping crime.

[dabrockster]

You should call the investigators then to save them some time.

HACK!!!

[Jacob]

So they broadcast a live feed of him having sex. This is clearly criminal behavior and it si equally repulsive whether the victim is gay or straight. They ought to have the book thrown at them for that crime.

This argument you guys are having about civil claims is not as interesting to me. I'm sure there are tort claims that he could have made. But the action of the room-mates seems clearly illegal and certainly should be. And again, that he is gay doesn't have much to do with that determination. That he killed himself--which I'm sure was at least partially motivated by the criminal actions--is a tragedy. But I'm not sure it changes the criminal charges.

[Surfah]

HACK!!!

So you called?

[Surfah]

So they broadcast a live feed of him having sex. This is clearly criminal behavior and it si equally repulsive whether the victim is gay or straight. They ought to have the book thrown at them for that crime.

This argument you guys are having about civil claims is not as interesting to me. I'm sure there are tort claims that he could have made. But the action of the room-mates seems clearly illegal and certainly should be. And again, that he is gay doesn't have much to do with that determination. That he killed himself--which I'm sure was at least partially motivated by the criminal actions--is a tragedy. But I'm not sure it changes the criminal charges.

There is no argument about civil claims. I was only interested in the criminal charges. You share the same opinion I do on those.

[wuapinmon]

So they broadcast a live feed of him having sex. This is clearly criminal behavior and it si equally repulsive whether the victim is gay or straight. They ought to have the book thrown at them for that crime.

Poppycock!

[falafel]

So they broadcast a live feed of him having sex. This is clearly criminal behavior and it si equally repulsive whether the victim is gay or straight. They ought to have the book thrown at them for that crime.

This argument you guys are having about civil claims is not as interesting to me. I'm sure there are tort claims that he could have made. But the action of the room-mates seems clearly illegal and certainly should be. And again, that he is gay doesn't have much to do with that determination. That he killed himself--which I'm sure was at least partially motivated by the criminal actions--is a tragedy. But I'm not sure it changes the criminal charges.

Do we know that he was having sex? I thought he was making out.

What is the criminal charge that is so obvious?

[All-American]

There's a difference between the "but for" cause and the "legal" cause. The "but for" cause is something that, had it not happened, the subsequent event wouldn't have happened either. The "legal" or "proximate" cause is one so near to the consequent event and so likely to cause that event that society deems it appropriate to hold the actor responsible.

Leaking the video is apparently a "but for" cause of the kid's death, but is very unlikely to be considered the legal or proximate cause. The kids who leaked the video can still be punished for the damage they proximately caused by invading his privacy.

[Jacob]

Do we know that he was having sex? I thought he was making out.

What is the criminal charge that is so obvious?

That's what I read,from the AP:

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.

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.

[All-American]

Do we know that he was having sex? I thought he was making out.

What is the criminal charge that is so obvious?

http://www.samsachs.com/crimlaws/2c_14-9.shtml

I presume this was in NJ; the kid went to Rutgers, correct?

[Color Me Badd Fan]

Poopycock!

lol!

[Color Me Badd Fan]

I feel it's necessary to chime in on this matter. I got a 3.8 in Crim. Law and therefore I'm more qualified to post about this than the rest of you, unless one of you guys received better than a 3.8. There is no effing way that the kids who videotaped this kid having sex have any criminal liability related to the kid's death. Where's the criminal intent? Was there actual intent, knowledge that the act would directly lead to his death, recklessness or even negligence. Killing yourself as a result of this is not a reasonable or even foreseeable reaction.

As for the civil side of things, well, I didn't do as well in torts. I kind of got tripped up when they were talking about writs of trespass being issued by 14th Century English courts or whatever the hell that was all about. But I do remember a tort called intentional infliction of emotional distress. As with other intentional torts, damages don't have to be proven. Videotaping your roommate having sex and posting it on the Internet qualifies as "outrageous conduct" as far as I'm concerned. And the roommates acted recklessly in videotaping it and posting it on the Internet. (By the way, if it was only "making out" then this changes things entirely).

[creekster]

I feel it's necessary to chime in on this matter. I got a 3.8 in Crim. Law and therefore I'm more qualified to post about this than the rest of you, unless one of you guys received better than a 3.8. There is no effing way that the kids who videotaped this kid having sex have any criminal liability related to the kid's death. Where's the criminal intent? Was there actual intent, knowledge that the act would directly lead to his death, recklessness or even negligence. Killing yourself as a result of this is not a reasonable or even foreseeable reaction.

As for the civil side of things, well, I didn't do as well in torts. I kind of got tripped up when they were talking about writs of trespass being issued by 14th Century English courts or whatever the hell that was all about. But I do remember a tort called intentional infliction of emotional distress. As with other intentional torts, damages don't have to be proven. Videotaping your roommate having sex and posting it on the Internet qualifies as "outrageous conduct" as far as I'm concerned. And the roommates acted recklessly in videotaping it and posting it on the Internet. (By the way, if it was only "making out" then this changes things entirely).

The problem with tort theories that keeps getting missed here is that most emotional distress claims die with the victim (at least in CA). How are you going to pay them?

I agree with you on the crim case, however. I dont recall what I got in crim law (but it was aletter, not a number) but I did work for a little while as apublic defender, so hopefull that helps.