Amanda Todd case: Dutch police found passport, cash stashed in stereo during property search
Amanda Todd case: Dutch police found passport, cash stashed in stereo during property search
It was during a second police search of a bungalow at a Netherlands holiday park in January 2014 that Lt. Erik Verstraten testified he noticed something strange.
At the time, Verstraten was with the child sexual exploitation division. He took the stand again Tuesday in New Westminster at the trial of Dutch citizen Aydin Coban, who has pleaded not guilty to charges of extortion, child luring, harassment, and possession of child pornography.
The crown alleges Coban tried to use explicit images of Port Coquitlam teen Amanda Todd as leverage to get her to perform sex acts online when she was between the ages of 12 and 15. Todd died by suicide in 2012. Coban’s defence counsel has said the case is about whether the Crown can prove who was behind the messages sent to Todd.
Verstraten told the court during the second search on Jan. 14th he opened a box with a stereo inside, and found it strange to see the middle part of the stereo was uncovered while the speakers were still wrapped and sealed.
“When I lifted it out of the box, I felt something moving inside of it, and I saw a beige carton box inside the stereo set,” he testified.
Verstraten told the court when the stereo was disassembled, they found a small box inside with wrapping paper and tape attached to it.
He testified they found a Dutch passport inside with the name Aydin Coban, along with envelopes containing 10,000 euros, and a hard drive.
Photos from the police search displayed in court showed computer equipment on the bed in one of the rooms, and a guitar under it. Further images showed a black pouch inside the guitar, and then cash inside the pouch. Another photo described as being from the living room appeared to show another guitar. Photos were also taken of a cable running along the floor in the hallway, and several boxes in some of the rooms.
The jury also heard from a witness in the Netherlands who testified by video. Adem Gokcinar told the court he met Coban as a child, and then reconnected with him in 2011. He testified he helped Coban move to a bungalow months before he was arrested. Gokcinar told the court they had a shared interest in music, and Coban had a classical guitar, and ordered a second guitar after his move. He also told the court Coban had a laptop and also got a new desktop computer after his move.
In cross-examination, Gokcinar testified Coban would repair computers, including his own, and at one point remembered him making pamphlets to advertise fixing computers and replacing old hard drives.
Coban was first charged in 2014, and was later extradited to Canada. The defence has not yet presented its case. The trial is scheduled for seven weeks.
Chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam says Health Canada is authorizing a booster dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for children between five and 11 years old.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has nominated Ontario judge Michelle O’Bonsawin to the Supreme Court of Canada. In a statement announcing the nomination, Trudeau said that O'Bonsawin is an Abenaki member of the Odanak First Nation and is a fluently bilingual Franco-Ontarian.
A prominent Quebec cardinal is denying sexual assault allegations against him contained in a class-action lawsuit that was formally filed this week in Quebec Superior Court.
Nunavut's acting minister of community and government services says the territory has declared a state of emergency in Iqaluit to ensure the city can begin replenishing its water reservoir without delay.
As students across Canada gear up to enter what will be their fourth academic year in the pandemic, CTVNews.ca takes a look at what measures will be in place in schools, by province and territory.
As of today, individuals and businesses are no longer able to import restricted handguns into Canada, with limited exceptions. The move announced earlier this month is aimed at expediting a key pillar of the federal effort to cap the number of handguns in the country.
Transport Minister Omar Alghabra is set to testify before the House of Commons transport committee this afternoon about ongoing airport delays and flight cancellations.
The parent company of CTV News says it will launch an internal workplace review amid criticism of its dismissal of Lisa LaFlamme from her role as chief anchor.
The Malahat highway has reopened after it was closed in both directions for several hours Friday morning after a truck carrying live chickens crashed near the Split Rock lookout. Travellers were detoured off the Trans-Canada Highway at Shawnigan Lake Road and Shawnigan-Mill Bay Road, while oversized vehicles were being sent through West Shawnigan Lake Road.
Chris Schwede was found dead Thursday morning in his tent on Victoria's Pandora Avenue. Inside his tent was a blue-tinted form of crack cocaine that first appeared in the city on Wednesday, according to local outreach services.
The Calgary Police Service has cordoned off a section of the Bow River pathway and closed a lane of eastbound Memorial Drive in the northeast following a Thursday night stabbing.
Chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam says Health Canada is authorizing a booster dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for children between five and 11 years old.
Chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam says Health Canada is authorizing a booster dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for children between five and 11 years old.
Ben Stelter's fans and supporters are invited to a send-off for the six-year-old who died a week ago. A procession in honour of the Oilers superfan who was diagnosed with brain cancer at four years old will travel by Rogers Place on Friday.
An Ontario hospital is warning patients to anticipate 'much longer' than expected wait times due to 'rapidly changing demands' in their emergency department.
A prominent Quebec cardinal is denying sexual assault allegations against him contained in a class-action lawsuit that was formally filed this week in Quebec Superior Court.
The Nunavik Regional Board of Health and Social Services (NRBHSS) confirmed that the Inuk woman struck on Highway 520 in Montreal has died of her injuries.
The Coalition Avenir Quebec has unveiled its electoral campaign slogan: Let's continue. In a brief message Friday, the party states that four years ago, it had proposed many changes and, as there is still work to be done, wants to keep that momentum going.
Two Winnipeggers are facing drug related charges after the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) seized 30 kilograms of what is suspected to be cocaine at the port of entry in Windsor, Ont. earlier in the month.
Chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam says Health Canada is authorizing a booster dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for children between five and 11 years old.
The Saskatchewan NDP called on the province to remove teachers named in a multi-million dollar class action lawsuit alleging incidents of physical and verbal abuse against students by staff at the Legacy Christian Academy.
Chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam says Health Canada is authorizing a booster dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for children between five and 11 years old.
A coroner’s inquest jury made almost 20 recommendations for ways New Brunswick and its law enforcement can do better in police interventions, training and equipment. CTV News polled each to see if they are considering, or have already implemented any of them.
Angela Parker-Brown may be unable to speak but that hasn't stopped her from using her voice. The mother from Truro, N.S., who is unable to speak due to ALS, recently published a memoir using technology that tracks her eye movements to form words and sentences.
Chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam says Health Canada is authorizing a booster dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for children between five and 11 years old.
Two-term city councillor and former deputy mayor Maureen Cassidy will not seek re-election this fall. Just hours before the deadline for candidates to register at city hall, Coun. Cassidy confirms her decision to step aside.
Chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam says Health Canada is authorizing a booster dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for children between five and 11 years old.
Municipal councils in Ontario are nearing the end of this term’s four-year cycle and with an election on the horizon, there are only two candidates running in North Bay's mayoral race as the nomination deadline looms.
Chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam says Health Canada is authorizing a booster dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for children between five and 11 years old.
The Region of Waterloo council approved a series of measures on Thursday to help ease the growing homelessness crisis, including a first-ever decision to permit an encampment.
