Dutch prosecutors seek to quash BC ‘Sextortion’ verdict

Prosecutors in the Netherlands are seeking to reduce the sentence imposed on a Dutchman for the “sextortion” of a British Columbia teen who died by suicide from 13 years to 4 1/2 years, an amount that the girl’s mother says her pleasantly surprised.

“I was just thinking it would be zero because of Dutch laws,” Carol Toddwhose daughter Amanda Todd died in 2012, said in an interview Thursday.

“I didn’t think they could ask for anything.”

Last August, a BC Supreme Court jury convicted Aydin Coban of extortion, harassment, communicating with a youth to commit a sex offense, and possession and distribution of child pornography.

He was sentenced to 13 years in prison in October, but the sentence is due to be served in the Netherlands after serving an 11-year prison sentence for other crimes in August next year. The Canadian sentence must first be converted into a term that complies with Dutch law.

Coban had already been convicted of assaulting more than 30 other victims when he was extradited to Canada to face trial in the Todd case.

He was not in court on Thursday for a hearing at the Amsterdam District Court to commute the Canadian sentence.

Prosecutor Kasper van der Schaft told the judges that a Dutch court would normally give Coban a four-year prison sentence for the crimes he was convicted of in Canada. But he urged judges to impose an extra six months.

Van der Schaft acknowledged that Canadians familiar with the Amanda Todd case would be “shocked” that a 13-year prison sentence imposed in Canada is reduced to about a third of that in the Netherlands.

Coban’s Dutch lawyer, Robert Malewicz, called the Canadian sentence “exorbitant, even by Canadian standards”.

He said Coban should not receive an additional prison sentence, but if he does, it should not exceed one year with six months probation. That would mean that Coban only has to serve an extra six months if he commits another criminal offense.

Carol Todd said she had submitted a victim impact statement to the Dutch court, but Coban’s lawyers had chosen not to read it in open court.

“I just wanted the court to understand this person’s behavior and the loss of him Amanda and the repercussions in the world of exploitation,” she said.

Malewicz criticized Canadian authorities for releasing Coban’s personal information and said he will now forever be linked to the Todd case. The Dutch authorities do not release full names or other identifying details about suspects in criminal cases.

“He will always be recognized,” Malewicz said. “It feels like a life sentence to him.”

But Carol Todd said she thinks his name and photo should be public.

“He became the poster man, and Amanda was the poster child, but it was his choice to victimize her, so it’s his entourage,” she said.

“I’m just shaking my head over that one,” she said. “You chose to victimize the child and so now you have to pay the consequences. If it wasn’t published about him, it would protect him and this is about protecting other kids.”

The court said it would make a decision on July 13. An appeal against the verdict of the conviction can be lodged with the Supreme Court.

Carol Todd said she hopes the judges heed the prosecution’s suggestion.

“If Mr. Coban doesn’t get anything, that sends a message to predators that they can get away with something for free, especially if they offend in other countries,” she said.

“I’d like to see the judge go above that, but I hope they don’t go lower than 4 1/2 years.”

Amanda Todd was 15 when she committed suicide in October 2012, not long after she posted a video to YouTube describing how she was tormented by an online bully.

She used flashcards to recount her ordeal in the video that has since been viewed by millions, highlighting the damaging effects of online harassment and cyberbullying.

Coban was not charged in connection with Todd’s death.

At Coban’s sentencing last year, Canadian judge Martha Devlin said he had been targeted Todd with a “longstanding pattern of sextortion” and the “serious impact of the violations on Amanda was clear to Mr. Coban and would have been clear to anyone at the time.

She added that “destroying Amanda’s life was Mr. Coban’s stated goal. Alas, one he has achieved.