(New Westminster) A man convicted of multiple sex offenses against B.C. teenager Amanda Todd should be jailed for 6 years, not 12 as requested by the Crown, his lawyer has said.
Posted at 6:56 p.m.
Eliot Holzman told the B.C. Supreme Court that while Amanda Todd was injured, she was the only victim and her client’s actions weren’t as serious as others who have been convicted in cases that resulted in lighter sentences.
Amanda Todd committed suicide at her home in Port Coquitlam on October 10, 2012, about five weeks after posting a video using flashcards saying she had no one to talk to, suffered from anxiety and depression and had changed schools twice.
By then she had already endured more than two years of torment by Dutch national Aydin Coban, who sent pornographic material of Amanda Todd to other children, adults and administrators at schools she attended.
While Crown attorney Louise Kenworthy said the torment suffered by Amanda Todd was a “dominant” cause of the girl’s suicide at 15, Ms.e Holzman disagreed.
“Our position is that there is not enough evidence to prove this,” he said Wednesday.
He pointed to letters of support from Coban – one from his mother, another from his older sister and a third from a friend – and noted that his client had no criminal record in Canada.
However, Coban has been in custody since 2014 and is currently serving a nearly 11-year sentence for 68 similar offenses in the Netherlands involving 33 girls, some of whom were as young as 9.
Coban, 44, was extradited to Canada to stand trial in the Todd case and convicted in August of extortion, communicating with a youth to commit a sexual offence, possession and distribution of child pornography and luring children.
Me Holzman said Coban received a social upbringing and that the support of his family and friends bodes well for his reintegration into society.
Me Kenworthy described the man as unrepentant, at high risk of recidivism, unwilling to participate in a rehabilitation program and deserving of a longer sentence that reflects his crime and acts as a deterrent.
She said earlier on Wednesday that Coban coaxed Amanda Todd into posing as teenage boys and girls, then encouraged her to quickly show up for him before distributing the photo and threatening to ruin her life if she didn’t provide no more pornographic material.
The frequency and duration of sexual violence contributed to Amanda Todd’s psychological problems, substance abuse and changing schools, Ms.e Kenworthy.
The court heard Amanda Todd realize her images would be on the internet forever and begged her classmates not to pass them on, but they had already been widely shared.
Me Kenworthy asked Judge Martha Devlin for a 12-year sentence that should be served in addition to Coban’s Dutch sentence.
However, M.e Holzman indicated that much of the sentence should be served concurrently.