VANCOUVER -- Amanda Todd’s mother hopes 2020 is the year her daughter’s alleged tormentor will finally stand trial in Canada.
Dutch national Aydin Coban was charged in connection with Todd's online harassment back in 2014 – two years after the teenager took her own life – but Canadian authorities couldn't seek his extradition until another case against him in his home country concluded.
Now, he's one step closer to facing a judge in B.C.
"They can’t hide behind their country walls and the internet," Carol Todd told CTV News on Monday. "I’m hoping 2020 will be a good year in that it will bring some answers to all those questions that we have."
On Monday, the B.C. Prosecution Service confirmed an order for Coban's temporary detention has been granted by the B.C. Supreme Court, though there is still no timeline for his arrival in Canada.
Coban was convicted in 2017 for online fraud and blackmail in relation to the abuse of 34 other young people. Coban, who was then 38 years old, was sentenced to 10 years and 243 days in prison and is currently serving his sentence in the Netherlands.
Todd said she's anxious to see him face trial on Canadian soil next.
"It will definitely make the world look in on this case and what’s going to happen," she told CTV News.
Before Amanda Todd's 2012 suicide, she posted a heartbreaking YouTube video describing how she was blackmailed by someone online.
Two years later, Coban was charged for crimes alleged to have been committed against Amanda. The counts he faces in B.C. include extortion, criminal harassment, child luring and child pornography offences.
The BCPS said the Crown can't start the next steps until Coban arrives in Canada, and they did not provide a timeline as to when that could happen.
Todd said she's relieved the case is slowly moving forward, and doesn’t mind waiting longer if that means it's done right.
"I would rather wait than have a mistake in there somewhere," said Todd.
