Show me a case where "an employee who works in a store or office building who hides a camera to spy on the public" gets ANY jail time?

I found 3 instances with a quick google search not even getting past the first half page of results, Harlan. What do you think is an appropriate sentence for someone who is convicted of destroying evidence and tampering with witnesses?

Problem in the case was it was his dorm room. Why can't he put a camera in his own dorm room?

toni- it wasnt HIS dorm room it was THIER dorm room. if my college roomate video taped me sleeping with college girls that would be ok because it is his dorm room?

i in know way think ravi should have got over a year, but 20 days is a joke.

Toni if you slept with a guy and did things that you thought were only being shared between you and that individual and found out his roomate video taped it and shared the video with his friends and acquaintances do you think 20 days in prison is a fair punishment.

i have a son and a daughter both in college. if ANYBODY invaded thier privacy like this kid did i would be in prison for much longer than 20 days for giving the kid the beating he deserved

Dude, if I slept with a guy in my dorm room, my roommates did crap like that. That's what happens when u do stuff in college. Do I think it's right, NO. But I have as much right to my dorm room as my roommate and I couldn't tell my roommate to leave, or turn the music down or anything else she wanted to do in it.

What you need to realize is that while what Ravi did was wrong, he had no idea that Clementi would kill himself, and that isn't his fault. He didn't pull the trigger here. He didn't force Clementi to jump off the bridge.

To all those who are bringing up "similar" cases where much heavier prison sentences were imposed, please be sure to compare apples and apples. Please make sure that your examples consist of:

1. The victim(s) was an adult.
2. The perpetrator had no previous criminal record.
3. There was no filming of nudity or sexual act.

Harlan, perhaps we were unfair. Please feel free to give us examples where they received no jail time after being convicted. I'm sure you would only compare apples to apples and only include those that were also guilty of destroying evidence and tampering with witnesses.

He didn't hide a camera...he used his laptop which was out in the open. Blaming Clementi's death on Ravi is ignoring the real problem. Clementi's parents did not approve of his being gay and he clearly was depressed beyond anything Ravi could have done. By blaming Ravi for Clementi's suicide we are sending the message that it is okay to commit suicide because you are depressed, which is NOT the right message to convey. PERIOD.

Stac, u don't play fair. lol. Making it personal changes the dynamics. I totally agree. No, I point was that there is no expectation of privacy in ur own dorm room. I agree that what happened was tragic. But here's the thing, if this poor guy wasn't so afraid of how society was going to judge him, he may still be alive.

The kid had deeper issues and he did not kill himself because of the voyer. Young people do stupid things, this was an over reaction. Tragic, not a crime in my opinion. I never trusted my roommate freshman year and caught him stealing, he played the race card when I caught him and when he refused to leave his life in room was made miserable. If I had a camera I would have recorded everything!

If you ever went to college you would know that dorm rooms really have no personal places or corners. You literally change clothes, sleep, eat and do EVERYTHING in plain view of your dormmate. If you expect a privacy then you need to be in a single person dorm room or for pleasures you need to go to a hotel or to your home.

reply- if it was a female who killed herself due to the embarassment she felt the sentence would be 10 years in prison

Actually, I think if it had been a girl with a much older stranger she had only met online, we would all be lamenting her morals; and feeling outraged for the young roommate told repeatedly to leave her room to facilitate the encounters

YES!!

If it was a 18 year old girl with an adult then we would be thanking Dharun for recording the incident and asking for a jail time for that coward who was prowling the dorms to spend a night with teens. Come on people- the sicko did not even know the full name of TC! How is that different from someone actually picking up a prostitute?

No No Stacie. I don't think it's any less bad at all. I meant that IMO Tyler was so consumed by how society would perceive his sleeping with a guy that he felt overwhelmed and took his own life. Tragic.

I meant that u took the perfect approach, by personalizing the argument and saying if it was my child, I lose any attempts to be objective Of course we would do anything for our children.

IMO roommates in a dorm room have no expectation of privacy as TO THE OTHER ROOMMATE.

Toni...he wasn't "sleeping" with anyone...just hooking up.

If a violation of common humanity was a crime, most of society as we know it would be locked up.

For a private moment you need to go to a private place not a shared dorm room. Yes, if you share a dorm room with another person that you have not known for more than a few days, you do have every right to set up a camera to protect your self and your belongings.

I lived in a sorority and trust me there was no expectation of privacy. Thank goodness no you tube back then. Just photos.

Everyone does crazy crap in college, I wouldn't want stuff getting out about what I did in college, but I wouldn't kill myself if it did. Ravi should not have to answer for someone's mental instability. Not everyone respects each other, you happened to get a roommate that you liked, some people don't.

@billy- i agree with you ravi is not responsible for the death, however i believe such an invasion of privacy deserves much more than 20 days in jail. 3-6 months would have been fair to me, but 20 days is a joke

Billy Mays, Ravi was not convicted of causing Clementi's death. He was convicted of bias intimidation, evidence and witness tampering. Read the laws - he was clearly guilty.

Did your sorority secretly video tape each other having sex, and then broadcast it for the whole college community to see??? That's a big difference from 'no expectation of privacy'.

I hope not. That would mean any political dreams are ova!!

This is the age of internet, digital cameras, twitter, youtube and facebook. If you expect privacy you pay for a single dorm room.

That's not what I said. Don't put words in my mouth.

Allen J, where are you getting your information from? "posting someone nude or having sex with out thier consent". Who was in that condition? Not TC or his rapist. Yes, that is what I would call that MB guy. He only "used" TC, (who was insecure and felt rejected) for his pleasures.

No one was taped. Get your facts right.

-'we caught this college kid clearly violating someones privacy, should we do anything about it?"
'No its college that stuff happens all the time"

-'we just broke up a party with an insane amount of cocaine, should we do anything about it?'
'No its college, frats and sororities do that all the time."

-'a huge brawl broke out between opposing fans at a football game, sending innocent bystanders to the hospital, should we make any arrests?"
"c'mon man its college, that stuff happens."

-'just pulled over a college kid drinking and driving should we bring him to the station?"
"no its college, that stuff happens."
- Just caught a 32 year old with an 18 year old in a dorm, should we be alarmed? Naaaaah! It is a college. It happens! Right?

Stay sad. It aint changing.

Dharun Ravi was not convicted of all charges.

No, the judge just wasn't a moron that wants to make a name for himself.

Tiny bit rascist there......"send him back home to India"...this is his home, since he was a child

Luca D. There were 35 questions related to 15 counts Of those 35 questions, 24 were answered with a guilty verdict. He was found guilty on ALL 15 counts. You can see all the counts here: http://www.dailytargum.com/news/ravi-found-guilty-on-all-counts-in-webcam-spying-case/article_e5da8b64-6f84-11e1-b6f1-0019bb30f31a.html

Ravi was found not guilty of committing the act based upon sexual orientation which was one of the key components to the hate crime provision.

Break down of verdict. http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2012/03/ravi_webcam_trial_verdict.html

Luca D. You're right. he was found not guilty on one question. Let us not forget Ravi was also being tried for what he did to MB, Clementi's guest. Bias intimidation wouldn't really apply to MB since he was not living in the dorm. Ravi was found guilty of bias intimidation in Count 2 and Count 4 . In Counts 6 and 8 "Ravi was found guilty of attempting to invade Clementi’s privacy because of his sexual orientation and targeting Clementi because of his sexuality. Ravi was also convicted of committing the invasion of privacy offense knowing it would cause Clementi to be intimidated."

Then of course he was found guilty of three counts of tampering with physical evidence, one charge of witness tampering and three charges of hindering apprehension or prosecution.

The judge was the only one with the backbone in this case. If we were sending back people like this then there will be no one left in America.

Was Ravi charged with Misdemeanors or Felonies? From my understanding.. some employers only ask and look for Felony convictions.. if he wasn't convicted of a felony it's very likely that he can go to college in PJ's and get a job with an employer that doesn't check for misdemeanors. That's more than what Tyler Clementi will ever have a chance to accomplish.

I would not be so sure about DR's future the way you painted it. TC was mentally unstable and that is why he is not alive today. I do not think most people care about who is Gay or not as long as they are left aone. TC was uncomfortable with his origin and being rejected by his family. Gay people do not kill themselve if they are stable and feel secure.

No one is ‘slamming’ Toni, we are just voicing our own opposing point of view. She seems to think that 1) Ravi had the right to videotape hid roommate since it was his dorm room, and 2) her experience in a sorority with very little privacy is somehow analogous to this case. Unless Toni has been secretly taped having sex and that tape was broadcast to hundreds of people, she really has no idea about the experience. And to blame it on the victim’s sexual orientation is ridiculous…. what heterosexual would want this to happen to them???

I find your comment funny. When one of the Toni's pointed out that my objectivity may be clouded as a parent, I stepped back and thought about it and agreed. I am curious what it is that I have said that is so offensive. I don't expect people to agree with everything that I say but would hardly consider my comments offensive. So please...enlighten me, Jerry.

Ravi had the right to do what ever he wanted to, toni was right. You expect everyone to act and think like you. It's politically correct to adore homosexuals. If not, this would have never been in the news. There are many more stories just as outrageous except they do not fit the news media's agenda....

Oh really? Care to post one??? I posted an article about a guy who got 5-20 years for secretly videotaping nude women. So much for your theory about coddling homosexuals.

Toni doesn't need anyone to interpret what she meant @Hookerman, especially when that interpretation is inaccurate.

Hooker-That story was not a national headline. Taping nude woman is so heterosexual.

I never blamed anything on Tyler being gay genius. I said that it was society that made this man feel pressured by who he was. ur constant reference to sex tapes leads me to believe ur a little repressed there, ain't ya. I never said it was ok to video tape. What I keep saying and believe is that there is no privacy in a dorm room for people whose room it is. Did u ever think that maybe Tyler killed himself because the 30 something guy that screwed him blamed him for this mess or used him for sex and dumped him?

I agree. I'm in full support of gay rights, however I am not in support of twisting the law in favor of one sexuality. If Clementi wasn't gay we wouldn't be having this discussion.

I keep bringing up sex tapes because that is exactly what this case is about…. It’s NOT about living in an environment where there is little privacy, which we’ve all probably experienced at one point in our lives. But that does not give anyone the right to secretly videotape you and broadcast it to hundreds of people without your consent. I’m sure if it happened to you Toni, you would not say; “oh well, no big deal”.

And Billy Mays, if this is only because Clementi is gay, does that mean if someone did the same thing to your heterosexual daughter, then no problem?

Jerry G, you said it!

YOU ARE SO RIGHT TO INVADE A PERSONS PRIVACY YOU DONT EVER NO THE OUT COME OF THEM BEING HUMILLIATED , THIS IS REALLY VERY SAD THERE WAS A YOUNG BOY THAT TOOK HIS LIFE OVER THIS , FROM A STUPID KID BEING ,MEAN ,SELFISH AND FOR WHAT A LAUGH .. NASTY ..

Gee, now it's a left right thing?? OK well the "left" are so willing to forgive Roman Polanski for drugging and raping a young girl but according to you, the "right" has encouraged bigoted boys by not punishing him enough. If your going to spew political crap , at least TRY to be consistent.

I'm not laughing stacie, it's kind of pathetic. One minute you're ready to take the law into your own hands to prove how you would punish Ravi if it happened to you. And on another thread you're telling Kevin Nedd to stay off the Patch because he's in Hawaii. Your thinking out loud is embarrassing too. Get a life.

Jerry, are you seeing secret posts that the rest of us are not?? No fair! Not only did I miss Stacie 'slamming' anyone for a difference of opinion, but I missed the part where she was "ready to take the law" into her own hands to "prove how she would punish Ravi". Could you please refer me to that post? Oh, and the other thread, you know - where you interjected, saying that if you "were in Hawaii" you wouldn't "waste one second on crap like this"...where was anyone told to "stay off the Patch"?? I'm a little confused...

Morale issues?? Roman Polanski was FOUND GUILTY in a court of law and skipped town before he was supposed to be sentenced. Why haven't they called for his extradition? All I hear is aww it was so long ago, blah blah blah ... where is the justice for the girl? Not everything is left and right and wtf does Pharmaceutical corporations have to do with this case?? BTW...you have some major conspiracy issues. Just sayin...

If you need things explained to you this conversation is way over your head...Billy Mays gets it. If anyone needs to get a grip it's you, your retorts are too long winded.

Below you state your "retorts include thought and intelligence". Since when? It doesn’t take much thought and intelligence to lie and distort.

I didn't say NJ was "crap". I said you are likely to find more crap in NJ than you would find in Hawaii. In this case crap being drama (political or otherwise).

I also didn't comment on my mortgage as a justification for voicing my opinion. I used the fact I still pay property taxes in Washington Township as my justification for commenting on what happens there.

KMN...I don't lie or distort. To be honest, as I always am, my first post indicated that I know you take a lot of "heat" for your crimes. If I didnt say things precisely as you stated them or would like to hear them, I am sorry. I don't know you or your politics and for that reason I felt a bit sympathetic when I said that you took heat as I did not have an educated opinion. That is the truth. But now....I can understand the disdain for you. And even as you admit to your crimes...you still have the nerve to be so smug? You are a psychologist's dream!

Staci,

I didnt ask for your sympathy, so please save those sentiments for someone who cares. In the future try quoting and/or paraphrasing accurately and we wont have any issues. Lastly, any decent psychologist will tell you if a person feels the need to explicitly state they are honest or intelligent, they are doing so to convince themselves, more so than anyone else.

Yep.

Typical fragile male ego...resorting to personal insults rather than sticking to the point.

Chokhi, if there were "facts that were put under the covers" they should have been brought out during the trial. If they were not, that means those rumored facts you allude to were not very credible. Why are you calling MB a "prowler" when he was an invited guest? Are there age requirements for guests? Would Ravi have known what they were doing if he didn't stream the hidden video? I will say though, if not for the fact that Clementi was gay, very few of you would be defending this criminal.

Who said that he was rich?

I'm the one who is rich. I'm one of the richest gay men in Fort Lee.

Get a life Milly. You know, I'm starting to think you could be associated with the school board, care if I go any further?

Hope his mother feels some remorse for her role in her son choosing the cowards way out...wasn't she the one that couldn't accept him when he came out of the closet? Lets drive her half way across the GWB and have her look over the railing...lets see if she has the courage to jump, doubt it. Has she shown remorse in how she treated her son? This kid did not have to kill himself, if he was so ok with his choice then he would still be alive!

Nobody can say if he would be alive or not ok the fact of the matter is a stupid young foolish kid got away with commiting a crime ,,he should be deported ok , and his family has to live with the biggest loss of a child ok . and his sentencing was not harsh enough he was ((( Found Quilty ))) PS IT IS A CRIME TO VIDEO TAPE ANYONE IN A SEXUAL ACT NO MATTER WHAT THEY ARE DOING !!!!!

BABY 1: They were kissing. That's all. Is that a "sexual act"? If so, then I guess I'm committing a crime if I videotape my family out in public and I happen to catch another couple kissing.

Just answering Baby 1's statement. Of course the circumstances are different, but you can't make a blanket statement about something being against the law without thinking it through.

I AGREE STACIE NO ONE HAS THE RIGHT TO INVADE ANYONES PRIVACY NO MATTER WHAT YOU ARE DOING WITH WHOM , IT IS MEAN ,AND THE SAD PART IS THIS FOOL GOT AWAY WITH IT ..

We can't even get our government to deport "real" criminals (murderers, rapists, pedophiles) but you want us to deport this guy?