Amanda Todd's mother highlights impact of 'sextortion', as jury deliberates
The mother of Amanda Todd hopes her daughter's case brings increased awareness of the devastating impacts of “sextortion”, as a jury in the trial of a Dutch man accused of blackmailing the British Columbia teenager begins its first full day of deliberations.
Carol Todd says her daughter was “disabled” by depression and anxiety caused by what a Crown prosecutor called a persistent online campaign of harassment, before her suicide at the age of 15 in October 2012.
Todd says extortion of the type Amanda suffered has become a global problem that needs to be discussed and better addressed by law enforcers.
Aydin Coban denies five charges of extortion, harassment, communication with a young person to commit a sexual offence and possession and distribution of child pornography, but has not been charged in relation to Amanda's death.
The judge in the case instructed the jury to take “special care” with the late teenager's statements, because she wasn't able to testify or be cross-examined at Coban's two-month trial in the B.C. Supreme Court in New Westminster.
Coban's lawyer says the main issue in the trial is the identity of the person behind messages to Amanda, and extortion cannot be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 6, 2022.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Orca calf that was trapped in B.C. lagoon for weeks swims free
An orca whale calf that has been stranded in a B.C. lagoon for weeks after her pregnant mother died swam out on her own early Friday morning.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
Trump's lawyers try to discredit testimony of prosecution's first witness in hush money trial
Donald Trump's defence team attacked the credibility Friday of the prosecution's first witness in his hush money case, seeking to discredit testimony detailing a scheme between Trump and a tabloid to bury negative stories to protect the Republican's 2016 presidential campaign.
U.S. flight attendant indicted in attempt to record teen girl in airplane bathroom
An American Airlines flight attendant was indicted Thursday after authorities said he tried to secretly record video of a 14-year-old girl using an airplane bathroom last September.
Powerful tornado tears across Nebraska, weather service warns of 'catastrophic' damage
Devastating tornadoes tore across parts of eastern Nebraska and northeast Texas Friday as a multi-day severe thunderstorm event ramped up in the central United States.