The parents of the Rutgers University student who killed himself after his alleged intimate encounter with a man was captured by a Web cam want his classmates’ invasion-of-privacy cases prosecuted, but don’t want them to receive “harsh punishment.”

“We feel it is important to establish accountability and to further establish that Tyler was subject to criminal acts, not merely a college prank as some may argue,” said Paul Mainardi, the lawyer representing Tyler Clementi’s parents, Jane and Joseph Clementi.

The Clementis issued a statement yesterday, six months after their son jumped to his death from the George Washington Bridge.

“The past six months have been the most difficult and painful of our lives,” they said. “We have done our best to deal with the grief and pain of the death of our son Tyler in awful circumstances while dealing with the crush of media attention, the pending criminal investigations and, of course, our own unanswered questions.”

Clementi’s roommate, Dharun Ravi, and classmate Molly Wei are each charged with two counts of invasion of privacy. Authorities said that last September, they used a Web cam to watch part of Clementi’s encounter with another man. Within days, Clementi killed himself.

Lawyers for the students have said their clients are not guilty of any crimes.

The Clementis also said they are starting a foundation to raise public awareness of bullying and assist vulnerable young people.