Sentencing hearing for man convicted in Amanda Todd case set for September
Aydin Coban was convicted of harassment, extortion, child pornography and child luring
A sentencing hearing for a Dutch national convicted of harassing and extorting British Columbia teenager Amanda Todd before she died by suicide has been scheduled for next month.
Justice Martha Devlin set the hearing for Aydin Coban to begin on Sept. 20 in B.C. Supreme Court in New Westminster.
A jury delivered a unanimous verdict on Saturday, convicting Coban of extortion, harassment, communication with a young person to commit a sexual offence, and possession and distribution of child pornography in Todd’s case.
Amanda’s mother, Carol Todd, says she will deliver a victim impact statement during the hearing. She sat in the courtroom everyday of the nine-week trial leading up to Coban’s conviction.
Speaking to CBC outside the courtroom after the verdict was read, Todd appeared overjoyed.
While she said she didn’t want to use “happy words” to describe the verdict, she said it was exciting to finally have some closure.
She described the conviction on all counts as a “just” decision — one that came as a relief, many years after losing her daughter.
- Dutch man Aydin Coban convicted of sexually extorting B.C. teen Amanda Todd
Amanda Todd was 15 when she died by suicide in 2012, after posting a video where she described being tormented by an online harasser.
She used flash cards to recount her ordeal in the video, which has since been watched by millions, shining a light on the issue of online harassment and cyberbullying.
- Amanda Todd’s parents recall teenager’s anguish at recurring social media torment
Former federal prosecutor Rishi Gill believes that Crown counsel will likely seek a strong sentence for Coban because, though he was not convicted in connection to her death, in the end, the teenager did die by suicide.
Coban’s defence lawyer, Joseph Saulnier, had told media after the verdict Saturday that he would be speaking to his client about next steps, including the possibility of an appeal 40 days after the sentence is decided.
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