A Dutch man accused of extorting Port Coquitlam teen Amanda Todd is back in court in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, next month, in what could be another step towards him facing charges in this country.
In Canada, Aydin Coban, 39, faces five charges connected to Todd, including extortion, possession of child pornography and attempting to lure a child online.
In May 2017, however, Coban was sentenced in the Netherlands to 10 years in prison for cyberbullying teen girls and gay men.
His extradition to Canada was also approved, but that cannot happen until Coban’s appeal of his earlier convictions in the Netherlands is heard in a Dutch court.
That starts Nov. 5 and will continue until Dec. 14.
According to Carol Todd’s Facebook page, Coban has announced that he will speak during the appeal. Carol Todd is Amanda’s mother.
Carol Todd said she’ll be following the case and awaiting for charges to proceed in Canada. Coban’s extradition to Canada has been approved by both governments, she added. But she’s wondering if there will be another challenge to that.
“So I’m just waiting to see if there’s anything else he can appeal.”
She thought that Amanda’s trial would be done in 2017.
“Now we’re heading into 2019. But I’ve resigned myself to the fact that it will happen when it happens. In the meantime, I’m just going to continue to get out there and talk and protect our kids and families that don’t belong to me. It’s important to me, right,” said Carol.
A story by Dutch writer Christel van der Meer in the Dutch publication Omroep Brabant said Coban wanted to show that others have used his computers for criminal practices. In 2017, he put a book online, in which he states that he is the victim of a miscarriage of justice.
Amanda Todd drew global attention to cyberbullying when she posted a YouTube video recounting her ordeal. She later took her own life in October 2012 when she was 15.
Todd used to go to school in Maple Ridge. When she was in Grade 7, she was convinced by a stranger online to expose her breasts on her friend’s webcam.
That stranger used Todd’s image to blackmail her into providing him with more child pornography, threatening to send the nude photo to her friends and family unless she sent him more photos of herself.
When she didn’t comply, he made good on his promise.
Ridicule and humiliation would be constant companions for her after that.
Taunted by classmates at Westview secondary, she eventually changed to Maple Ridge secondary.
Todd and a male student at the school began a short-lived romantic relationship. When the boy’s girlfriend found out, the girlfriend and her friends bullied and taunted Amanda, eventually beating her up.
Midway through the school year, she transferred to Coquitlam Alternative Basic Education, in Coquitlam. However, cyber bullying from her peers in Maple Ridge continued.
Todd described how her life fell apart in a video she posted to YouTube a month before she took her own life.
Holding up hand-written placards, she recounted the events that would eventually lead to her own death.
Following her passing,
The Amanda Todd Legacy Society was started afterwards, a non-profit society that focuses on awareness and the well-being of individuals with respect to prevention and awareness relating to bullying, cyber abuse and internet safety, as well as resources and education that encourage mental wellness and healthy living.
– with files
