(New Westminster) The man who tormented British Columbia teenager Amanda Todd before she died by suicide has been sentenced to an unprecedented 13 years in prison by a judge who called him “a sextortionist on the internet”.
Posted yesterday at 10:47 p.m.
British Columbia Supreme Court Justice Martha Devlin said Friday that Aydin Coban’s calculated conduct caused the girl mental anguish and social isolation, contributing to her suicide after he told Amanda Todd that he would ruin his life.
The sentence is longer than the 12 years suggested by the Crown, but Judge Devlin said Coban’s conduct called for “a strong reprimand”.
He appreciated his victim’s growing distress, she said.
“Mr. Coban’s culpability is at the extreme end of the spectrum. »
Arguments at the sentencing hearing indicated that the longest sentence in Canada so far for similar offenses was approximately eight years.
The story of Amanda Todd, 15, caught the world’s attention when she posted a video of her torment weeks before her death in 2012. She wrote on cards to explain how she was stalked and extorted by an anonymous online predator.
The video has since been viewed millions of times.
Amanda Todd’s name is known around the world for exposing the dark corners of the internet where predators lure vulnerable children, Justice Devlin added.
The judge clarified that Coban used an arsenal of fake social media accounts and went to great lengths to seek out family members and friends of Amanda Todd to maximize damages after she killed him. begged to stop.
Coban, who was extradited to Canada for trial, is already serving an 11-year sentence handed down in the Netherlands for similar crimes involving 33 youths.
Judge Devlin announced that the 13-year sentence will be served after Coban’s Dutch sentence ends in August 2024.
The British Columbia Prosecution Service issued a post-conviction statement indicating that under the terms of Coban’s surrender, he would be returned to the Netherlands to serve his current sentence.
The court heard he must be deported within 45 days and will serve his Canadian sentence in the Netherlands.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY DUTCH POLICE, VIA THE CANADIAN PRESS
Aydin Coban
Coban refused pardon and is likely to re-offend, as there is no indication he has any idea of his behavior, the judge said.
She said she wasn’t sure a pardon was a viable option because Coban didn’t appreciate the seriousness of his crime.
Coban’s offense was relentless, he knew Amanda Todd was only 12 when he started stalking her, and he went after her by hiding behind 22 aliases using sophisticated technology, added the judge.
Amanda Todd’s family should be seen as secondary victims of the crimes, having suffered profound harm and continued suffering, she added.
At the sentencing hearing this week, Coban’s attorney, Joseph Saulnier, asked for a two-year sentence, saying an additional sentence on top of the sentence Coban is already serving would be “crushing”.
Judge Devlin said the extortion conviction should be considered “sextortion” when against children, reflecting society’s deep understanding of the offense.
She mentioned the child pornography images depicting Amanda Todd.
“She couldn’t escape the pictures or the videos. It was a ‘never-ending story,'” she said, citing Amanda Todd’s own description of her ordeal in the 2012 video.
Carol Todd, Amanda’s mother, testified to the House of Commons Women’s Committee earlier this month that the country had learned a lot since her daughter’s death a decade ago, but that police needed to take online harassment more seriously.
She mentioned that the victims should not be ashamed.
Mme Todd added that the government also needed to review its anti-cyberbullying legislation which received royal assent in 2014.
The bill makes it a crime to share intimate images without consent and clarifies that Criminal Code offences, such as harassment, can also be committed online.