The man who was caught on a webcam in an embrace with Rutgers University student Tyler Clementi testified this week in the trial of the man accused of spying on them.
The trial against Dharun Ravi entered its second full week with testimony by the man known only as “M.B.,” whose full name has not been disclosed.
The judge in the case prohibited courtwatchers from taking his photo or recording the testimony.
Prosecutors say Ravi tapped into his webcam remotely after Clementi asked for time alone in their shared dormroom on the Rutgers campus Sept. 19, 2010. He and another student allegedly saw Clementi and M.B. kissing and then invited other students to view the feed.
Two days later, Ravi allegedly set up his webcam pointed at Clementi’s bed and sent out messages to friends inviting them to watch the feed on his Twitter account. Classmates testified this week that Ravi planned to stage a “viewing party” Sept. 21, with beer and rum on hand. However, the webcam malfunctioned.
M.B. said that he met Clementi in an online chatroom for gay men and first met him in his dormroom Sept. 16, followed by the two encounters that week.
M.B. testified that he noticed the camera when he was with Clementi and was apprehensive about meeting Clementi in his dorm again after noticing other students staring at him when he left.
After learning that Ravi had seen him with M.B., Clementi requested a room change but two days later committed suicide.
On Tuesday, a computer expert who worked on the case testified that Clementi was aware of two tweets Ravi sent — the initial one where he said his roommate was “making out with a dude” and the subsequent one in which he invited followers to tune in to see the live stream — as Clementi took screenshots of both Sept. 21.
Clementi visited Ravi’s Twitter page nearly five-dozen times between Sept. 13 and Sept. 22, the day he jumped from the George Washington Bridge, the expert testified.
Testimony is expected to continue through the middle of the month.
Jen Colletta can be reached at [email protected].