Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office

25 Kirkpatrick Street, 3^rd Floor, New Brunswick, New Jersey, 08901 (732) 745-3300

*News Release* Date: April 20, 2011

Grand jury indicts Rutgers student on privacy, bias charges

Middlesex County Prosecutor Bruce J. Kaplan announced that a grand jury sitting in Middlesex County returned a 15-count indictment today against Dharun Ravi of Plainsboro, a former Rutgers University student. (Copy of indictment attached)

Previous press releases by Prosecutor Kaplan, dated September 28, 2010, and September 30, 2010, had announced that Ravi (DOB 2/28/92) had been charged with two counts of invasion of privacy and two counts of attempted invasion of privacy.

Those complaints charged that the defendant, on September 19, 2010, positioned and remotely accessed the webcam on his computer to secretly view his roommate, T.C., an 18-year-old Rutgers student, and another male, M.B., and then provided others an opportunity to view that personal encounter.

It also was charged that on September 21, 2010, Ravi attempted to secretly view a second encounter, and attempted to provide others with another opportunity to view the same two victims, T.C. and M.B.

Following a lengthy and extensive criminal investigation by the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office and the Rutgers University Police Department, evidence was presented to the grand jury on April 13, 2011. The indictment was handed up today.

The grand jury consists of 23 citizens who are sworn by the court to determine, after a presentation by prosecutors, if probable cause exists to return criminal charges to the court by way of an indictment.

Following a presentation by Middlesex County First Assistant Prosecutor Julia L. McClure, the grand jury handed up the indictment charging Ravi with the two counts of invasion of privacy and two counts of attempted invasion of privacy, as charged initially by complaint.

These counts are third and fourth degree offenses that carry a penalty ranging from probation to five years incarceration upon conviction.

The grand jury also charged the defendant acted with bias on the evenings of September 19, 2010, and September 21, 2010, when he invaded and then again attempted to invade the privacy of T.C. and M.B.

It should be noted that events giving rise to the bias charges against Ravi date from August, 6, 2010, the day he learned the name of his roommate, T.C.

The grand jury charged that the invasion of privacy and attempt to invade the privacy of T.C. and M.B. were intended to intimidate them because of their sexual orientation. The panel further charged that T.C. reasonably believed he was a target because of his sexual orientation.

Under state law, bias is charged a degree higher than the underlying crime, in this case, invasion of privacy. Accordingly, the defendant has also been charged with two counts of second degree bias and two counts of third degree bias. A second degree offense carries a prison exposure of five to 10 years.

Based on events and actions determined during the on-going investigation, the grand jury concluded that Ravi also attempted to mislead investigators and witnesses in various ways.

As a result, the grand jury charged Ravi with three counts of tampering with evidence, three counts of hindering his own apprehension and one count of witness tampering.

Specifically, the grand jury charged that Ravi deleted a post on Twitter alerting others to view T.C.’s and M.B.’s second encounter on September 21, 2010, and replaced it with a false post on Twitter intended to mislead the investigation.

Additionally, it was charged that Ravi tried to convince witnesses not to testify against him and provided investigators with information intended to mislead them in their investigation.

The New Jersey criminal code designates invasion of privacy as a sexual offense under Chapter 14. Accordingly, the identities of T.C. and M.B. will not be revealed.

These same privacy rights, as well as the right of the defendant to a fair trial, prohibit disclosure of additional facts that were obtained during the course of the investigation. Details of the investigation will be disclosed during the course of future court proceedings. No court dates have been set at this time.

It also has been determined that charges previously filed against a co-defendant, Molly W. Wei (DOB 2/1/92) of West Windsor Township, would not be presented to the grand jury at this time.

She is charged with two counts of invasion of privacy arising from the September 19, 2010, incident. The charges are pending and the case against her remains active.

Wei was released on her own recognizance after surrendering to the Rutgers University Police Department in New Brunswick on September 27, 2010. Ravi surrendered to Rutgers police on September 28, 2010, and was released on $25,000 bail.

Anyone with information regarding this matter is asked to call the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office at (732) 745-3300, or the Rutgers University Police Department at (732) 932-8025.

As is the case with all criminal defendants, Ravi and Wei are presumed innocent until proven guilty.