Mystery man set to testify in Rutgers bullying trial

Ravi is not charged in Clementi’s suicide, which was widely portrayed as a tragic example of bullying and the toll it too often takes on gay teenagers.

Ravi is charged with 15 counts of invasion of privacy, witness and evidence tampering and bias intimidation, which is a hate crime. If convicted, he faces the possibility of 10 years in prison.

M.B., who is not a Rutgers student, visited Clementi in the dorm room he shared with Ravi on two evenings in the week before his suicide, the last being September 21.

Known only as M.B., the man’s identity has been closely guarded because he is considered a victim himself. Efforts to protect M.B.‘s identity were requested by his lawyer, Richard Pompelio.

He said in court papers that M.B., who apparently met Clementi online, has an “overwhelming” fear that release of his identity will lead to a “total invasion” of his privacy.

Thus far, the judge has agreed to place tight restrictions on the disclosure of his identity, ordering that M.B.‘s name and date of birth be given only to Ravi, his attorney and his attorney’s investigator, who are bound not to disclose these details to anyone else.

It was not clear the extent to which his identity will continue to be shielded once he takes the witness stand in the trial in Middlesex County, New Jersey, court.

Students who lived in the same college dorm and have been called as witnesses in the trial described M.B. as about 30 years old and “sketchy.”

By Jonathan Allen

(Reuters) -(Editing By Barbara Goldberg and Paul Thomasch)