(Vancouver) The number of sextortion cases has skyrocketed during the pandemic to alarming levels, warn experts who want more public awareness and stronger laws.
Posted at 2:03 p.m.
According to data released this week by Statistics Canada, the number of extortion cases reported to police in Canada has jumped nearly 300% in nearly a decade. Much of this uptick has been seen during the pandemic.
David Fraser, a Halifax lawyer, criticizes police forces for being unable to enforce existing laws in a digital context.
Lianna McDonald, executive director of the Canadian Center for Child Protection, calls for a “regulatory framework for tech companies” to be quickly imposed or the problem will only get worse.
Sextortion is a crime that caught the eye of Canadians when a 15-year-old girl from British Columbia took her own life in 2012 after being stalked by a bully hiding behind her anonymity.
Aydin Coban, a Dutch man charged with extortion, criminal harassment, communicating with a teenage girl to commit a sexual offense and two counts of possession of child pornography, has since been awaiting a jury decision.
Signy Arnason, of the Canadian Center for Child Protection, points out that the phenomenon has not stopped growing since the death of young Todd.