WARNING: This article contains details that some readers may find disturbing.
The message to Amanda Todd came via YouTube in April 2011.
The sender’s name was new. But the language and the threats were familiar: “Am I back … Am I missing you? … How’s your new school going? … I have a new flash video of yours.”
Todd, who would have been 14 at the time, was offered two options.
“Choice. Bring one: do five shows for me, 30 minutes each and then I disappear forever,” the message continued.
“Second door: I find you life in this new school like last time. A week to decide.”
The threat was read Monday in the BC Supreme Court along with others posted via Facebook, Skype and other forms of social media on the first day of the trial of the man accused of “extorting” Amanda Todd.
The messages allegedly tracked the teen via the internet as he moved from school to school between 2009 and 2012.
Crown Attorney Louise Kenworthy told the jury that the variety of threats, lawsuits and deadlines came from 22 different user accounts.
But he claimed that they were all controlled by one man: Aydin Coban.
“You will do what they tell you”
The 43-year-old man is accused of possessing child pornography, extortion, child attraction and harassment of Todd, who became a public face in the fight against cyberbullying after his death in suicide in October 2012. He is not accused of his death.
Coban, who was extradited from the Netherlands to BC in December 2020 to face trial, watched as Kenworthy made his opening remarks from the prisoner’s box, where he was sitting in a black open-necked shirt. straight gray hair to a point just above the neck. .
Aydin Coban sat in the prisoner’s box as he watched Amanda Todd’s mother, Carol Todd, testify on the first day of her trial in New Westminster. (Jane Wolsak)
The trial began with a court clerk reading each of the five charges aloud, and Coban stood up to plead not guilty to each.
The prosecutor described Coban as a sextorist: “someone who extorts another person and demands sexual intercourse.”
He presented a scheme in which the defendant allegedly used a series of fake usernames and social media accounts for four separate episodes in which he threatened to send graphic images of Todd to family, schoolmates and teachers. that she agreed to do “sex shows.” “
Kenworthy said Coban also used other accounts to impersonate teenage boys and potential friends in order to get more material he could use for extortion.
“Last chance or I’ll start posting videos to everyone on your Facebook, school, and newspapers in your city,” said one message.
“Look at the camera bitch: a nice enough guy … you’re going to do what you’re told or I’m going to have a bad life,” read another.
Kenworthy said Todd’s graphic images were posted via Facebook accounts to user lists that included family members and hundreds of people associated with the teen’s high school.
He read an email from an account stating that he belonged to an employee of an “independent online child protection agency.”
“I understood what we were seeing”
A number of witnesses are expected to testify during the seven-week trial, including Amanda Todd’s parents, a friend, a teacher and police officers who investigated the case.
Kenworthy said the trial would also hear Dutch police officers raiding Coban’s home in the Netherlands in 2013 and 2014, confiscating a desktop computer, a laptop and hard drives.
Carol Todd, Amanda Todd’s mother, was the first witness to take part in the trial of the man accused of cyberbullying his daughter. (Ben Nelms / CBC)
He said the computer forensic examination showed that although much information had been deleted, the files linking Coban to usernames and fake accounts still remained, as well as traces of videos containing the name of Amanda Todd.
Carol Todd was the first witness to take the square.
She began her testimony by identifying herself as Amanda Todd’s mother. He also confirmed the date of his daughter’s death and identified her from a picture of the school posted on the screens in the room, including one directly in front of Coban.
Todd said his daughter enjoyed singing and learned at an early age how to make videos of herself and post them online.
“It was a time when Justin Bieber became famous online and Amanda, like many other people, wanted to become famous, just like Justin Bieber,” he said.
Todd described receiving a message from a stranger in December 2010 with a link to a graphic image: “I clicked on it and saw what it was … and I think my heart was pounding, but I knew enough that I needed it. capture him “. she said.
RCMP got involved and more emails and more links were followed, including one on an adult porn website where images of Amanda Todd had been posted.
“It was a link to a video … it was her topless … shirtless … Did I click on the link to see any more of the video? No,” Todd said.
“I understood what we were seeing … what had been done was child pornography.”
‘She was scared. She was scared ‘
As time went on and the family reunited with police, Todd said his daughter’s anxiety level increased. She felt guilty and embarrassed and worried about getting in trouble.
“She was scared. She was scared, and with Amanda, when she got anxious, she just grew up. She wanted something done,” Todd said.
“With each message she received, her anxiety increased, because at that moment she felt that she was following her, being chased by someone who was unknown.”
On his way to the living room, Todd said he intended to serve as his daughter’s voice. She wore a snowflake necklace as a reminder of a child who was as unique as she was loved.
Aydin Coban’s lawyer, Joseph Saulnier, also spoke to the media outside of New Westminster court.
He said he is confident the jury will make the right decision in the case. But he said publicity surrounding Amanda Todd’s death is a challenge.
“There is no doubt that Amanda Todd was the victim of many crimes. This case is about who was behind it,” she told reporters.
“Everyone who has heard of this story, who thinks they know what it’s about, who has read or heard things that may not be accurate; this is where I hope people can keep their minds open and open their minds. and really listen to the evidence at trial. “