(CNN) — A former Rutgers University student went on trial Friday in New Jersey on hate crimes charges and other counts for allegedly using a webcam to spy on his roommate’s sexual encounter with another man.

The roommate, Tyler Clementi, committed suicide by jumping off the George Washington Bridge just days after Dahrun Ravi allegedly streamed the encounter remotely and allowed others to view it.

Ravi, 19, faces a 15-count indictment in connection with Clementi’s 2010 death that includes charges of invasion of privacy, bias intimidation, tampering with physical evidence, witness tampering and hindering apprehension or prosecution.

The jury will be confronted with the question of whether Ravi’s alleged bullying was borne of a gay prejudice that prompted him to intimidate Clementi because of his sexual orientation.

The highly anticipated case drew more than 100 people inside the courtroom.

Last year, Ravi turned down a plea deal that would have allowed him to avoid jail time.

The deal offered by Middlesex County prosecutors would have required the former student to undergo 600 hours of community service, counseling and to dispose of any information that could identify the man that Clementi was with.

Prosecutors also offered to help Ravi avoid deportation, though they said they could not guarantee it. Ravi is a citizen of India who had been studying on a visa at the New Jersey university.

A second student charged in the scandal, Molly Wei, 19, reached a plea deal earlier that requires her to testify against Ravi.

If convicted, he could face up to 10 years behind bars.

Less than a month after Clementi’s suicide, President Barack Obama released a taped video message condemning bullying.