A WW-P High School North graduate looking to have charges dismissed that she invaded the privacy of her Rutgers University classmate when she allegedly viewed a webcast of his sexual encounter with another man, has reportedly been accepted into a pre-trial program.
Molly Wei, 19, of West Windsor, appeared in Superior Court on May 6 and was accepted into a pretrial program after the approval of both the judge and the prosecutor’s office, stated various news reports.
Wei reportedly pleaded not guilty and was accepted into the program, which would require her to perform 300 hours of community service and undergo counseling for cyberbullying and dealing with the alternative lifestyles of others.
If she completes the three-year pre-trial program without getting into any more legal trouble, the charges against her will be dropped, reports stated. Had she been convicted on two counts of invasion of privacy, Wei would have faced the possibility of being sentenced to five years in prison.
But the terms of the program spell even more trouble for fellow North graduate and former Rutgers classmate, Dharun Ravi, 18, of Plainsboro — whom she must testify against when he is prosecuted, said reports.
Last month, a grand jury indicted Ravi, who allegedly used the webcam to broadcast his roommate’s encounter over the Internet. The roommate, Tyler Clementi, later committed suicide.
Ravi was indicted on two counts of invasion of privacy and two counts of attempted invasion of privacy, as well as bias charges because his actions against Clementi “were intended to intimidate” Clementi and his partner “because of their sexual orientation,” said a press release from the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office.
“The panel further charged that T.C. [Tyler Clementi] reasonably believed he was a target because of his sexual orientation,” the press release stated. “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 bias offense carries a prison exposure of five to 10 years, the press release stated. A court date is scheduled for Monday, May 23.
Ravi and Wei were charged in September with allegedly using the web camera in Ravi’s dorm room to transmit images of his roommate’s sexual encounter with another man on the Piscataway campus live on the Internet.
Under New Jersey’s invasion of privacy statutes, it is a fourth degree crime to collect or view images depicting nudity or sexual contact involving another person without that person’s consent. It is a third degree crime to transmit or distribute such images. The penalty for conviction of a third degree offense can include up to five years in prison. But once Clementi committed suicide, talk turned to upgrading the charges, possibly to hate crimes. Evidence was presented to the grand jury on April 13. The indictment was handed up on April 20.
Not only is Ravi facing the invasion of privacy and bias charges, but the grand jury added additional charges. “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,” the press release stated. “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 found that Ravi deleted a post on his Twitter account that alerted others to view Clementi’s second encounter with his partner 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 press release stated.
