Aydin Coban sentenced to 13 years for sexual extortion of Amanda Todd
WARNING: This article con‐ tains details of sexual extortion and may affect those who have experi‐ enced it or know someone affected by it.
The 44-year-old Dutch man convicted of sexually extorting a B.C. teenager who died by suicide a decade ago was sentenced to 13 years in prison Friday.
B.C. Supreme Court Justice Martha Devlin asked Aydin Coban to stand as she read out her final decision, after detailing the arguments pre‐ sented by the Crown and the defence and explaining her deliberation process.
The sentence is longer than the 12 years suggested by the Crown, but Devlin said Coban's conduct and the pleasure he took in Todd's escalating distress called for "sharp rebuke.''
Coban's defence lawyers had asked for a two-year sen‐ tence.
Coban was convicted in August of extortion, two counts of possession of child pornography, child luring and criminal harassment against Amanda Todd.
Todd's story of being ex‐ ploited online from Novem‐ ber of 2009 to February of 2012 travelled around the world. She died by suicide on Oct. 10, 2012, after uploading a nine-minute video detailing the abuse she experienced and how it had affected her life in a series of flash cards.
Standing outside the cour‐ thouse Friday after‐ noon, Amanda's mother Carol Todd described the moment she heard the sentence.
"It was just a breathtaking moment," she said. "As breathtaking as Aug. 6 when I heard the five guilty counts."
During sentencing, Devlin detailed how Coban used 22 different aliases to chat with Amanda Todd on Face‐ book, YouTube and Skype, de‐ manding web cam shows. He sent her more than 700 messages and made "persistent online threats," according to Devlin.
Coban threatened to send images and videos of Todd in compromising positions to her friends and family.
"When Amanda refused to comply with his demands, Mr. Coban made good on his threats," said Justice Devlin, detailing a series of threats Coban made through various aliases to both Todd, her fam‐ ily and her friends.
Coban posted and shared suggestive and porno‐ graphic images of Todd on Facebook, in YouTube com‐ ments and uploaded them to image hosting sites. He also used some of his alias ac‐ counts to pose as a young friend and a concerned adult in different instances, claiming to be worried about her behaviour online.
Devlin said while she didn't find Coban's behaviour to be the "dominating factor" in her suicide, as claimed by the Crown, she did find that he caused "profound harm" that contributed to her mental health issues, depression and substance use.
"Ruining Amanda's life was Mr. Coban's expressly stated goal and was, sadly, one that he achieved," she said.
'Today is justice for Amanda,' mom says
Ahead of the hearing, Car‐ ol Todd said her heart was pounding "a million beats per minute" waiting for the sen‐ tence, and that she feels her daughter has been granted her wish of helping other vul‐ nerable young children.
"It has set case law precedents going forward for all other cases that might go to trial," she said. "It sets the bar ... and for those predators, who victimize children, hope‐ fully they won't get lenient
sentences."
Todd recounted the 13 years that have passed since Amanda was first victimized by Coban, and the 10 years since her daughter's death. She said she's persevered to make sure Amanda's story was shared with the world and that as many people as possible are aware of socalled "sextortion" and online predators.
"Today is justice for Aman‐ da — justice for all children," she said.
"I can't bring Amanda back. But with Amanda's sto‐ ry we can save others."
Todd said the sentencing doesn't necessarily bring a sense of closure to her devas‐ tating loss, but it does allow her to begin a new chapter as an advocate. With the trial completed, she plans to focus more of her energy on rais‐ ing awareness about sexual exploitation online and work‐ ing to prevent other young people from being made vic‐ tims.
Accountability is 'en‐ couraging,' advocates say.
In a statement, the Cana‐ dian Centre for Child Protec‐ tion (CCCP) said its "hearts are with the Todd family" follow‐ ing Friday's sentencing.
The CCCP said "it is en‐ couraging that the Canadian justice system has done its part to make the offender ac‐ countable for these offences," adding that it hopes more of these types of offenders will see the same consequences.
"Canadian children are in‐ creasingly being preyed upon in digital environments, both here and abroad," reads the statement. The CCCP says Canadians "owe it to Amanda Todd" to demand regulation and safety standards for the online services and platforms that children use every day.
Coban was extradited to Canada to face trial and is al‐ ready serving an 11-year sen‐ tence handed down in the Netherlands for similar crimes against different victims.
Devlin said the 13-year term will be served after Coban's Dutch sentence ends in August 2024.
The B.C. Prosecution Ser‐ vice issued a statement after the sentencing saying that under the terms of Coban's surrender, he will be returned to the Netherlands to serve out his current sentence.
The court heard he must be returned within 45 days, and he will also serve his Canadian sentence in the Netherlands.
In her conclusion, Devlin warned young people about the dangers of using the inter‐ net and the ease to which adults can conceal their iden‐ tity when interacting with vul‐ nerable children.
Support is available for anyone who has been sexual‐ ly assaulted. You can access crisis lines and local support services through this Govern‐ ment of Canada website or the Ending Violence Associa‐ tion of Canada database. If you're in immediate danger or fear for your safety or that of others around you, please call 911.
If you or someone you know is struggling, here's where to get help:
This guide from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health outlines how to talk about suicide with someone you're worried about.