A former Rutgers University student charged in a high profile invasion of privacy case linked to a student suicide has admitted her role in the secret webcam taping of two male students engaging in sex and has agreed to cooperate with authorities in the ongoing case. 
 
 In exchange, Molly Wei, 19, was permitted to enroll in a pretrial intervention program that could result in the charges against her being dropped. 
 
 Wei made a brief appearance in Middlesex County Superior Court on Friday, where she waived her right to have the charges against her presented to a grand jury and agreed to enroll in the intervention program. 
 
 The former college freshman, who was charged with two counts of invasion of privacy, declined to comment after the 10-minute hearing, but her lawyer said she was cooperating with authorities and that she should "not be a poster child for this." 
 
 Her lawyers have said repeatedly that their client played a minor role in the controversial case. 
 
 Wei and Dharun Ravi, 19, were charged in September with the secret taping of Ravi's roommate, Tyler Clementi, while Clementi engaged in a sexual encounter with another male in their dorm room. 
 
 Clementi, 18, committed suicide a few days later by jumping off the George Washington Bridge. 
 
 Ravi was charged in a 15-count indictment handed up in April with invasion of privacy and bias intimidation. Authorities alleged that he targeted Clementi and the other male, identified only by the initials M.B., because they were homosexuals. 
 
 Ravi, who could be sentenced to up to 10 years in prison if convicted, is to be arraigned on May 23. He has remained free on $25,000 bail. 
 
 Clementi's parents, who attended Friday's hearing, were consulted by Middlesex County authorities and apparently agreed with the more lenient sentence for Wei. 
 
 In a statement released after the hearing, Jane and Joseph Clementi said that "based on the information supplied to us, we understand that Ms. Wei's actions, although unlawful, were substantially different in their nature and their extent than the actions of Tyler's former roommate." 
 
 Wei will be enrolled in the PTI program for three years and must complete 300 hours of community service and undergo counseling on issues like cyber-bullying and alternate lifestyles. 
 
 She also has agreed to cooperate in the investigation and to testify for the prosecution in the case against Ravi. 
 
 Authorities alleged that Ravi hid a recording device in the dorm room he shared with Clementi and then went to Wei's dorm room and used a laptop there to stream a webcam fed of the encounter. 
 
 The indictment against Ravi charged that he recorded one encounter between Clementi and M.B. on Sept. 19 and tried, but failed, to record a second encounter on Sept. 21. 
 
 Clementi, like Wei and Ravi, was a freshman at Rutgers. 
 
 His death became a focal point for gay rights advocates who called it an example of the type of bias members of the gay community face. 
 
 The incident also has been cited by groups concerned about that the Internet has become a vehicle for violating basic privacy rights. 
 
 Supporters of Ravi have termed his actions a college prank run amok and have argued that authorities have turned the incident into a more serious criminal offense. 
 
 In the statement released Friday, the Clementi family said it was important that "there be accountability for violations of basic standards of human behavior." 
 
 "Actions have consequences," the family said. 
 
 Contact staff writer George Anastasia at 856-779-3846 or ganastasia@phillynews.com. 
 
 Follow the Inquirer at www.Twitter.com/PhillyInquirer and www.Facebook.com/PhillyInquirer ||||| (CNN) -- A former Rutgers University student who allegedly watched a web video secretly taken of a male student's sexual encounter with another man has been admitted to a pretrial intervention program. 
 
 Molly Wei pleaded not guilty Friday to two counts of invasion of privacy, according to a statement from the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office. 
 
 The case exposed the issue of bullying and suicide on school campuses after a grand jury indictment alleged that Wei's classmate Dharun Ravi secretly streamed online the encounter between his roommate, Tyler Clementi, and another man in September 2010. 
 
 Clementi's body was recovered from the Hudson River on September 30, more than a week after he jumped from the George Washington Bridge, which spans the Hudson River separating New York and New Jersey. 
 
 Should Wei complete the three-year program without additional legal troubles, the invasion of privacy charges for allegedly watching the video will be dropped, the office said. 
 
 Wei will be required to complete 300 hours of community service and must participate in counseling associated with cyberbullying and alternate and cultural lifestyles. 
 
 The deal also requires that she testify against Ravi, who allegedly set up the camera. 
 
 A grand jury indicted Ravi on 15 counts including invasion of privacy, bias intimidation, tampering with physical evidence, witness tampering and hindering apprehension or prosecution. 
 
 Authorities said Ravi secretly placed a camera in the room and accessed it remotely. 
 
 He "then provided others an opportunity to view the encounter," Middlesex County Prosecutor Bruce J. Kaplan said in a written statement. 
 
 Two days later, Ravi attempted to view a second encounter between Clementi and the same male, alerting others on Twitter of the planned meeting, the statement said. 
 
 Ravi is accused of then deleting the tweet and replacing it with a false tweet in an effort to mislead investigators, according to the statement. ||||| NEW BRUNSWICK — Former Rutgers University student Dharun Ravi was found guilty today of a hate crime, evidence tampering and invasion of privacy, for secretly using a webcam to spy on his roommate’s liaison with another man in their dorm room. 
 
 In the high-profile case that sparked awareness of cyber-bullying and harassment of gay teenagers, Ravi, 20, was convicted on parts of all 15 counts against him — including four bias intimidation counts — involving his former roommate, Tyler Clementi, an 18-year-old freshman. However, the jury had some difficulty with portions of the bias counts, giving a split verdict on some of the specific acts in which he was charged. 
 
 The jury found Ravi not guilty of all bias counts pertaining to the man Clementi was seen with during the webcam spying. 
 
 Sitting passively at the defense table, his parents seated in the first row behind him in the standing-room-only courtroom, Ravi showed little emotion as the verdict was read by the forewoman. The 15-member jury, including three alternates, reached its verdict shortly before noon, following two and a half days of deliberation. 
 
 "We had a 20-year-old's life in our hands," said juror Bruno Ferreira. "We were deciding his fate." 
 
 • FULL BREAKDOWN OF THE CHARGES AND EACH VERDICT 
 
 Sentencing has been tentatively set for May 21. Ravi also faces the possibility of deportation to his native India. Prosecutors declined to change the status on Ravi's $25,000 bail. He already surrendered his passport. 
 
 47 Gallery: PHOTOS: Dharun Ravi convicted in Rutgers webcam spying trial 
 
 Clementi committed suicide a few days after learning Ravi had watched him on a webcam set up in the dorm room the two young men shared. Ravi was never charged in connection with Clementi's death, in the closely-watched case that attracted national media attention. 
 
 The Clementi family, who was present throughout the proceedings, afterward expressed their thanks to prosecutors and the judge in the case but said the trial was difficult for the family. 
 
 “The trial was painful for us, as it would be for any parents. We wanted to be here for our son and we believe the trial is important," said Tyler’s father, Joe Clementi. “We have come to understand that criminal law is only one way of addressing these problems." 
 
 Noting the establishment of the Tyler Clementi Foundation in his son’s memory, Clementi said, “You can make the world a better place. The change you want to see in the world begins with you." 
 
 Following the verdict, Middlesex County Prosecutor Bruce Kaplan said the investigation had been uniquely challenging because “we didn’t have Tyler to testify.” 
 
 He added that identifying and analyzing all of the social media was another challenge of prosecuting. 
 
 Kaplan said the prosecution went to "extraordinary efforts" to protect the identity of the man Clementi was kissing when Ravi saw them, who testified during the trial. Named only as “M.B.” in court proceedings and documents, his identity was protected because he was considered a sex crime victim in the case. 
 
 “Tyler Clementi and M.B. were the victims of invasion of privacy,” said Kaplan. “Regardless of public opinion we were obligated to follow the law, we were obligated to follow the facts.” 
 
 Attorneys for Ravi had no immediate comment, but one of them later told The Star-Ledger he plans to file an appeal. 
 
 "We have a large number of issues surrounding evidence and law, as we dictated during the course of the trial," defense attorney Steve Altman said. "Some of that evidence was determined by the judge to be irrelevant, that we think is very relevant." 
 
 After the judge set a sentencing date, Ravi and his family were ushered out the front of the courtroom. As Ravi stepped out of the courtroom to the flashing cameras, his mother placed her arm around the small of his back. 
 
 The family and their lawyers headed to the elevators and were surrounded by a crush of media as they waited to board the elevators, while some reporters and camera crews ran downstairs to try to catch them on the way out. 
 
 Before the case went to trial, Ravi rejected a plea deal that would have allowed him to avoid jail. Under the terms, he would have gotten probation and be required to perform 600 hours of community service and receive counseling. 
 
 JURY NOT IN CONFLICT 
 
 Ferreira said the jurors were not in conflict with each other during deliberations. 
 
 "I'm actually satisfied with the verdict. It was very hard, very difficult. Nothing means we would be personally biased toward the defendant. You have to look at all the facts and the evidence. That's why you have 24 counts guilty and 11 not guilty. Witness statements and the evidence were not there to prove those," he said. "This was very difficult, but it was a really good experience. You feel like justice has been served. 
 
 Prosecutors presented more than 20 witnesses over 12 days of testimony, including students who lived in Ravi and Clementi's dormitory, Davidson Hall, law enforcement officials, Rutgers residence life staff and computer experts. 
 
 Clementi, a shy violinist from Ridgewood, and Ravi, a tech-savvy computer geek from Plainsboro, were seemingly ill-matched from the start. The two roommates were worried about living together from nearly the moment they learned each other's names, according to documents filed in court. 
 
 When Clementi asked to use their room on Sept. 19, 2010, Ravi went to the room of a friend, Molly Wei, and turned on his webcam from her laptop. Witnesses for the state testified that Ravi built an ”automatic accept” feature on his webcam to access it from elsewhere. 
 
 Wei and Ravi saw Clementi and M.B. kissing for a few seconds, and Ravi tweeted to his followers that he saw his "roommate making out with a dude." 
 
 Two days later, when Clementi asked for the room again, Ravi set up the webcam and double-checked that it was angled at Clementi's bed, according to two students who testified. He also dared his Twitter followers to chat him during the hours Clementi had asked for their room. 
 
 One witness testified that Ravi was "uncomfortable" having a gay roommate. Another read a text message in which Ravi explained his computer would "keep the gays away." 
 
 But on cross-examination, about a half dozen friends and dorm neighbors of Ravi's told Steve Altman, his lawyer, that Ravi never said anything malicious or derogatory about his gay roommate or about gay people in general. 
 
 After the prosecution rested last Thursday, the defense called seven witnesses in quick succession, all friends and co-workers of Ravi's father who said they had never heard him say anything negative about gay people, though they had never actually discussed the topic with him. 
 
 Throughout the trial, Altman maintained that Ravi only looked at the webcam to see what was going on in his room because he was put off by M.B.'s scruffy appearance. Ravi told police in a statement that M.B. didn't acknowledge him, appeared much older than a college student, and he got a "bad vibe" from him. 
 
 On the evidence charges, prosecutors said Ravi deleted dozens of relevant text messages and tweets, and tried to influence what Wei told police. 
 
 Clementi, who leaped to his death from the George Washington Bridge, came after a series of suicides of other young teenagers around the country who were bullied because they were gay or perceived to be gay. 
 
 The trial lasted nearly four weeks. 
 
 Star-Ledger staff writers Jessica Calefati, Sue Epstein, Peggy McGlone and Ted Sherman contributed to this report. 
 
 Related coverage: 
 
 • Rutgers webcam spying case: How it all began 
 
 • Juror in Dharun Ravi webcam trial speaks out 
 
 • Complete verdict breakdown: Dharun Ravi found guilty on most counts 
 
 • O'Brien: Ravi's dorm mates who did not object to webcam spying should search their hearts 
 
 • Defense scrutinizes witness' statements to police in Dharun Ravi webcam spying trial 
 
 • Di Ionno: Should Ravi take the stand in webcam trial? 
 
 • Rutgers webcam trial: Defense opens its case, insists Ravi has no gripes against gays 
 
 • Defense to call first witnesses in Ravi webcam spying trial
– Molly Wei admitted her role in the cyberbullying case that led fellow Rutgers student Tyler Clementi to kill himself and agreed to cooperate with authorities. She will likely avoid jail as a result, reports the Philadelphia Inquirer. Wei must complete 300 hours of community service, attend counseling on cyberbullying, and testify against the student accused of setting up the hidden camera that snooped on Clementi and another man, reports CNN. After that, the invasion-of-privacy charges lodged against her for watching the video with Dharun Ravi will be dropped. Wei's attorneys have argued that she played only a minor role in the case and that Ravi is the real culprit. He faces 15 charges on everything from invasion of privacy to tampering with evidence. Clementi's parents seem satisfied with Wei's penalty. "Based on the information supplied to us, we understand that Ms. Wei's actions, although unlawful, were substantially different in their nature and their extent than the actions of Tyler's former roommate," they said in a statement. Click to read about the resolution of the Phoebe Prince case, another high-profile suicide linked to bullying.