Rutgers University Subpoenaed After Tyler Clementi Death

Oct. 7, 2010 — -- Rutgers University has been asked by investigators to turn over e-mails exchanged between the institution and Tyler Clementi, the freshman student who leaped to his death after being secretly taped by his roommate.

The New Jersey university was subpoenaed by the Middlesex County prosecutor's office for the e-mails, which may shed light on whether Clementi had requested a room change prior to the videotaping incident that was a precursor to his suicide, officials told ABC News.

A user on a gay website believed to be Clementi mentioned on an online message board that he had requested a new roommate after being spied on with a video camera by his college roommate.

Two students have been charged with invasion of privacy for allegedly streaming Clementi's sexual encounter with another man, and the prosecutor's office is contemplating adding bias charges.

Rutgers spokesman E.J. Miranda said in a statement thats the Rutgers police department and the university are working with the prosecutor's office.

"In some instances a subpoena is required before the university can release confidential student records that are protected by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act," Miranda said.

The school held a town hall meeting Wednesday night to discuss the circumstances of Clementi's death, and Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., told the audience he would introduce federal legislation that would require colleges and universities to adopt a code of conduct that prohibits bullying.

The subpoenas come just a day after lawyers for the two students accused in the privacy breach spoke on behalf of their clients to pledge their innocence.

A lawyer for 18-year-old Dharun Ravi, who was roommates with Clementi, issued a statement urging the public not to "rush to charges" against his client.

"Unfortunately, a life has been lost," said attorney Steven Altman in the statement. "Out of respect to Tyler Clementi's family, this is not the time for explanations of defenses or justifications to be made public by an attorney."

"In regards to statements made by the prosecuting agencies of their continuing investigation and whether to file bias charges against Dharun Ravi, I am heartened to hear that they are taking their time to learn all the facts before rushing to judgment. I can only hope that the public will do the same," wrote Altman. "I am confident that nothing will be learned to justify, warrant or support the filing of any bias criminal complaint."

Tyler Clementi Was Secretly Filmed Days Before His Suicide

Both Ravi and his alleged accomplice, fellow Rutgers freshman Molly Wei, face several privacy invasion charges after allegedly surreptitiously filming Clementi during a "sexual encounter" in his dorm room with a man and then streaming it live on the Internet. If convicted, Ravi and Wei could each face five years in prison.

In the days since Clementi's body was retrieved from New York's Hudson River, the office of Middlesex County Prosecutor Bruce Kaplan has said it was exploring whether to bring more serious charges charges against Ravi and Wei.

A spokesman for Kaplan said that an investigation into whether bias or hate crime charges could be brought against Ravi and Wei was still on going.

And at a news conference earlier this week, Kaplan said, "We need to determine the facts and then determine what the applicable law is."

Wei's attorney released a statement insisting on his client's innocence.

"This is a tragic situation. But this tragedy has also unfairly led to rampant speculation and misinformation, which threaten to overwhelm the actual facts of the matter," said attorneys Rubin Sinins and Eric Kahn. "Those true facts will reveal that Molly Wei is innocent. Molly committed no crime. Her remarkable reputation is being unjustly tarnished by uninformed and incorrect assumptions."

The attorneys added that Wei is a "wonderful, caring and talented young woman with a bright future" who has been "maligned by unfounded attacks on her character."

A talented violinist, Clementi grew up in the New Jersey suburb of Ridgewood, where friends who knew him reeled from his sudden death.

Messages on social networking sites left by Ravi suggest that he may have had an aversion to Clementi's sexuality from the start of their freshman year just one month ago.

Ravi tweeted on Aug. 22, "Found out my roommate is gay," according to Forbes.com, and then posted a link to a gay men's website where Ravi said Clementi had placed posts.

Gawker reported it was that same website, JustUsBoys, that Clementi was believed to have turned to once he found out that Ravi had secretly filmed Clementi's sexual encounter with another man.

"So my question is what is next," the posted cti2mo, believed to be Clementi, wrote on Sept. 21. "I could just be more careful next time ... make sure to turn the cam away."

And then, in the same post, "I'm kind pissed at him (rightfully so I think, no?)"

Tyler Clementi's Online Farewell

Since Clementi's death, a message reading "in loving memory" appears next to the handle "cit2mo."

A Twitter page that appears to have been operated by Ravi but has since been taken offline shows messages in which the accused student takes credit for the alleged videotaping of Clementi.

Ravi apparently tweeted about his roommate on Sept. 19 before live streaming Clementi's sexual encounter, writing, "Roommate asked for the room till midnight. I went into Molly's room and turned on my webcam. I saw him making out with a dude. Yay."

And two days later, another message went out to Ravi's 148 Twitter followers: "Anyone with iChat, I dare you to video chat me between the hours of 9:30 and 12. Yes it's happening again."

The next day, a chilling post from Clementi showed up on his Facebook page. He wrote in a message dated Sept. 22 at 8:42 p.m., "Jumping off the gw bridge sorry."

Clementi's parents released a statement late last week saying that they hope their son's death "will serve as a call for compassion, empathy and human dignity."

"The outpouring of emotion and support from our friends, community and family -- and from people across the country -- has been humbling and deeply moving," said Joe and Jane Clementi in the statement issued by their lawyer. "We thank each of you from the bottom of our hearts."

ABC News' Aaron Katarsky and The Associated Press contributed to this report.