Prosecution seeks jail for Indian American Dharun Ravi

New York, May 11 (IANS) US prosecutors have asked a New Jersey court to sentence convicted Indian American student Dharun Ravi to prison for bias intimidation in a webcam spying case, but not the maximum of ten years.

Former New Jersey state Rutgers University student Ravi's March convictions for live-streaming his gay college roommate Tyler Clementi kissing a man and hindering the criminal investigation warrant jail time, prosecutors argued Thursday.

Days after the incident Clementi jumped to his death off the George Washington Bridge on Sep 22, 2010.

However, first assistant Middlesex county prosecutor Julia L. McClure said in a 14-page memo and a supporting document, neither her office nor the families of the victims suggest that the maximum 10-year sentence should be imposed.

Ravi "has failed to accept any degree of responsibility for the numerous criminal acts he committed," McClure wrote, "and shows no remorse for same, despite significant evidence pointing directly at him."

She noted that he rejected two plea deals prior to his trial, including one that would have resulted in 600 hours of community service instead of prison, plus mandatory counselling associated with cyber-bullying.

Ravi is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Glenn Berman on May 21 for invasion of privacy, bias intimidation, tampering with evidence, and hindering apprehension.

Ravi, who came to the United States with his parents from India as a 3-year-old, also faces possible deportation. McClure noted in her memo that when proposing the plea deals, her office also promised to assist Ravi in avoiding deportation.

"The defendant rejected the state's plea offer and made no counteroffer," she wrote, noting that he opted instead for a jury trial. The outcome of that trial warrants a jail term, she said.

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