NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. — Jurors in the Rutgers webcam spying case completed their second day of deliberations Thursday without reaching a verdict.
Middlesex County, N.J., Superior Court Judge Glenn Berman sent the jurors home at 4:20pm with instructions to reconvene at 9:00am Friday, The Star-Ledger reported.
The jury has now deliberated for nearly 10 hours over a two day period.
Dharun Ravi is accused of streaming live footage of his freshman roommate’s kissing session with an older man inside their dorm room — and then publicizing the tryst through texts and Twitter posts.
The incident sparked a national debate over privacy rights and the bullying of gay youths when the roommate — 18-year-old Tyler Clementi — committed suicide by jumping off the George Washington Bridge soon after learning of Ravi’s streaming in Sept. 2010.
Ravi, now 20, is not charged in connection to Clementi’s death. But he is facing 15 counts including invasion of privacy, evidence and witness tampering and bias intimidation — a hate crime which could land him in prison for ten years.
Ravi, an Indian citizen who grew up in New Jersey, could also be deported if the jury returns a guilty verdict.
He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
He also previously turned down a plea deal in which prosecutors offered no prison time as well as legal assistance with any potential deportation proceedings.
The jury is comprised of eight women and seven men, with three of the 15 designated as alternates. The alternates are not participating in the deliberations.
The jury verdict sheet includes 35 questions on which the jurors must agree unanimously.
Clementi’s family and Ravi and his family sat at opposite ends of the media-saturated courthouse Thursday, according to The Star-Ledger.
During the trial, jurors heard more than two dozen witnesses testify over a 12-day period, but Ravi decided not to take the stand in his defense.
Defense attorney Steven Altman said in closing arguments Tuesday that Ravi had no “hatred in his heart” for his roommate or homosexuals, and was instead using the webcam to watch over his possessions after learning Clementi had invited an older man into their shared room.
But prosecutor Julia McClure said that Ravi’s spying was motivated by his dislike for homosexuals.
“It wasn’t what he wanted his college experience to be,” McClure said of Ravi. “He didn’t want to have a gay roommate. He did not like that he had a gay roommate.”