NEW WESTMINSTER — Amanda Todd’s mother hopes her daughter’s case will bring heightened awareness of the devastating effects of “sextortion” as a jury in the trial of a Dutchman accused of blackmailing the British Columbia teenager begins his first full day of deliberations.
Carol Todd says her daughter was ‘handicapped’ by depression and anxiety caused by what a Crown prosecutor called a persistent campaign of online harassment, before her suicide aged 15 in October 2012 .
Todd says extortion of the type suffered by Amanda has become a global issue that needs to be discussed and better addressed by law enforcement.
Aydin Coban denies five counts of extortion, harassment, communicating with a youth to commit a sexual offense and possession and distribution of child pornography, but has not been charged in connection with the death of Amanda.
The judge hearing the case asked the jury to pay ‘special attention’ to the late teenager’s statements as she was unable to testify or be cross-examined during Coban’s two-month trial in court Supreme Court of British Columbia in New Westminster.
Coban’s attorney says the main issue in the lawsuit is the identity of the person behind the messages to Amanda, and extortion cannot be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
This report from The Canadian Press was first published on August 6, 2022.
The Canadian Press
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