Aydin Coban was charged with extortion, harassment, contacting a young person for a sexual offense and possession and distribution of child pornography. The court presiding over his trial at the Supreme Court of K.H. issued its unanimous verdict a day after deliberations began. Todd was 15 when she took her own life in 2012 after posting a video describing being tormented by an online stalker. The harrowing account, which has been seen by millions of viewers since her death, saw her use flash cards to describe her ordeal of anonymous online bullying. Her plea and subsequent death shed light on the issue of online harassment and cyberbullying. At the start of the trial in June, Coban pleaded not guilty to all charges he faced. He has not been charged in connection with Todd’s death. Crown attorney Louise Kenworthy told the jury that two hard drives seized from Holland’s home had connections to Amanda Todd, including a deleted bookmark to child pornography depicting the girl. She said at the start of the trial that Todd had been the victim of a persistent online “blackmail” campaign three years before her death. An RCMP officer testified that he found “actual snippets of conversation” between Todd and several of the online aliases used to harass her on a device seized from Coban’s home. After summarizing the evidence in closing arguments, Kenworthy said the only conclusion the jury could reach was that Coban was guilty. His defense called no witnesses in the case, and his attorney Joseph Saulnier told jurors in closing arguments that scraps of data reported by police at trial could not link Coban to Todd’s extortion or harassment. A Dutch court has approved Coban’s extradition to Canada after his trial there on similar charges. Coban was sentenced to nearly 11 years in prison after a trial in Amsterdam in 2017 for cyberbullying dozens of young girls and gay men. He was convicted of fraud and online blackmail and given a maximum sentence of 10 years and eight months in prison for what Dutch legal authorities said were “the devastating effects of his conduct” on the lives of his victims. That court heard Coban pretended to be a boy or girl and convinced his victims to perform sexual acts in front of a webcam, then posted the images online or blackmailed them into doing so. He was accused of abusing 34 girls and five gay men, behavior the court described as “stunning”. In some cases, the abuse lasted for years. This report by The Canadian Press was first published on August 6, 2022. – With files from the Associated Press
title: “Amanda Todd Case Aydin Coban Was Found Guilty Of All Charges " ShowToc: true date: “2022-10-31” author: “Ed Barber”
Aydin Coban was convicted of extortion, harassment, contacting a young person for a sexual offense, possession of child pornography and distribution of child pornography The verdict was handed down in BC Supreme Court on Saturday, less than 24 hours after the jury began deliberations. The trial lasted nearly two months and took place nearly a decade after Todd died by suicide at age 15. “My body went into temporary shock,” said Amanda’s mother, Carol, describing how she felt when she heard the verdict. “There have been so many disappointments along the way, right? To hear five ‘guilty’ – it was like Amanda was vindicated.” The harrowing account, which has been seen by millions of viewers since her death, saw her use flash cards to describe her ordeal of anonymous online bullying. Her plea and subsequent death shed light on the issue of online harassment and cyberbullying. “This is a monster that terrorizes without weapons,” said legal expert Ari Goldkind. “He’s using the internet, he’s using cyberbullying as his method and he’s costing people lives.” Coban’s lawyers expressed disappointment at the verdict. “This is not what we hoped for or expected,” said Joe Saulnier, Coban’s chief counsel. “So we will talk to our client. An appeal is a possibility.” Todd’s mother hopes the trial will result in a historic milestone. “It’s time to write ‘extortion’ into the criminal code,” Todd said. “So our families and our children can be safer.” A Dutch court has approved Coban’s extradition to Canada after his trial there on similar charges. He was convicted of fraud and online extortion and given the maximum sentence of 10 years and eight months in prison for what Dutch legal authorities said were “the devastating effects of his conduct” on the lives of his dozens of victims. Carol says the court victory marked the happiest she has felt in the 10 years since she lost her daughter. But that her hard work and healing isn’t over. “It’s not closure,” he said. “It’s just another completed chapter. But Amanda’s legacy lives on.” Carol says she will continue to share her daughter’s story to raise awareness of the seriousness of cyberbullying and “blackmail”. The sentencing date is expected to be announced on the morning of August 11. With files from The Canadian Press
