PISCATAWAY — He said he lives in "continuous and overwhelming" fear that his identity will be come public. He is terrified releasing his name will "result in a total invasion of my privacy."

But the judge in the Tyler Clementi invasion of privacy case wasn’t swayed.

The name of M.B. — the unidentified man seen kissing Clementi on a webcam last year — will be revealed to the student accused of spying on the pair in a Rutgers University dorm room, according to a ruling issued today in New Brunswick.

Superior Court Judge Glenn Berman had delayed a September order to release the name of Clementi’s companion, known only as M.B. in court papers, in order to give M.B. a chance to make a last-minute plea for anonymity. But M.B.’s personal, written request to keep his identity secret and his attorney’s legal arguments didn’t convince Berman to reverse his earlier ruling.

He ordered prosecutors to turn over M.B.’s identity to Dharun Ravi, the former Rutgers student facing up to 10 years in prison for allegedly using a webcam to spy on the unnamed man and Clementi in his dorm room.

"I have to balance M.B.’s right to privacy and Mr. Ravi’s right to a defense," Berman said. "I thought I did that on Sept. 9 and I feel I did the right thing ... The order continues and stands."

Unless there is an appeal, prosecutors will give M.B.’s name and birth date to Ravi and his defense team within seven days. The information will not be revealed to the public, the judge said.

However, the attorneys said the man’s name will likely come out if and when he is called to testify at Ravi’s trial. The judge set a Feb. 21 trial date.

Richard Pompelio, M.B.’s attorney, said he is disappointed his client’s identity may become public even though he is an alleged victim of internet spying.

"He did not put himself into this situation," said Pompelio, head of the New Jersey Crime Victims’ Law Center.

Ravi, 19, is accused of remotely turning on his laptop’s webcam Sept. 19, 2010, a few weeks after he began rooming with Clementi on Rutgers’ Piscataway campus. Ravi later used his Twitter account to tell friends he saw his roommate "making out with a dude."

Ravi, of Plainsboro, is also charged with trying and failing to set up the webcam a second time so other students could watch Clementi and M.B. in another intimate encounter.

Clementi, of Ridgewood, filed a complaint with Rutgers officials Sept. 22, 2010, after learning about the webcam. He committed suicide by jumping off the George Washington Bridge later that day. The 18-year-old freshman’s death prompted a national discussion about gay suicide and cyber bullying.

Before he died, Clementi told friends his companion, M.B., was in his 20s and not comfortable with others knowing he is gay.

Clementi’s mother and father were in the courtroom today for the 2 1/2 hour hearing. But court officials shielded them from the press, escorting them into the courtroom early and allowing them to leave before reporters and photographers were permitted to leave.

Ravi sat silently beside his attorneys through much of the hearing. His father sat directly behind him. Neither commented as they left the courthouse.

Among the other developments at the hearing:

• Ravi turned down a plea deal offered by prosecutors that would have given him a maximum of three to five years in prison in exchange for pleading guilty to some of the bias intimidation and invasion of privacy charges. The judge said he would have had the option of giving Ravi no jail time, if the defendant had accepted the deal.

• The judge turned down a request from Ravi’s attorney to see a Port Authority police report about Clementi’s suicide and several personal documents found in Clementi’s dorm room, including a letter found in his backpack. However, Berman granted the defense’s request to see a county investigator’s report that outlined what was found on Clementi’s computer, without giving any details about the personal documents.

• Berman rejected a defense request to recuse himself from the case. Ravi’s attorney filed the request after reality show producer Lisa Gregorisch-Dempsey was quoted in a newspaper story saying she was inspired to create "H8R," a new reality show on the CW network about hate spewed on the internet, partly because she has a gay nephew and Berman, her cousin, was presiding over the Ravi case. The judge said he had no ties to the show and Gregorisch-Dempsey is a distant relative he’s only met twice. He doesn’t know her nephew, he said.

Related coverage:

• Dharun Ravi's lawyer to again ask N.J. judge to reveal identity of Tyler Clementi's companion

• Companion of Tyler Clementi lives in 'substantial fear' of having his privacy invaded