(New Westminster) The Crown on Tuesday requested 12 years in prison for the Dutchman who committed multiple sexual offenses against Amanda Todd, a British Columbia teenager who later took her own life at age 15.
Posted at 4:15 p.m.
On the first day of the sentencing hearing on Tuesday, prosecutor Louise Kenworthy said Amanda Todd had been the victim of a morally repugnant and very well orchestrated extortion scheme with devastating consequences.
Amanda Todd, from Port Coquitlam, was 15 when she took her own life in October 2012. She had just posted a video on social media, where she used cardboard to describe in words how she had been blackmailed at hands of an anonymous online predator, for three years.
Aydin Coban was convicted by a jury last August of extortion, criminal harassment, communicating with a minor to commit a sexual offence, luring children, and possessing and distributing child pornography.
He had not been charged in connection with the teenage girl’s death.
Me Kenworthy recalled in court Tuesday that Coban began luring Amanda Todd when she was just 12. When she finally decided to stop performing for him online, he followed through on his threats: he sent embarrassing photos and videos of the teenager to her family, students at her school and the management of the establishment.
Coban was extradited from the Netherlands to face charges in British Columbia. It was learned at trial that he used 22 separate online accounts to harass the teenager and extort sexual favors from her for several years before her death.