AMSTERDAM (AP) — A 13-year sentence a Canadian court handed to a Dutch cyberbully in a notorious case involving a young girl who took her own life in 2012 should be reduced to four-and-a-half years in the Netherlands, a prosecutor in Amsterdam said Thursday.
Aydin Coban was convicted last year of extortion, harassment and other crimes in a case involving Canadian teenager Amanda Todd who was blackmailed to expose herself in front of a webcam. The 15-year-old died by suicide after detailing her ordeal in a YouTube video watched by millions around the world.
Coban was already serving an 11-year sentence in the Netherlands for similar crimes targeting 33 other victims when he was extradited to Canada to face trial in the Todd case.
His Canadian sentence will be served in the Netherlands after he serves out his original prison term in August next year. It must first be converted into a sentence in accordance with Dutch law.
Coban wasn’t in court for a hearing Thursday at Amsterdam District Court to convert the Canadian sentence.
Public prosecutor Kasper van der Schaft told judges that a Dutch court would normally hand a four-year sentence to Coban for the crimes he was convicted for in Canada. But he urged judges to impose an extra six months.
Van der Schaft acknowledged that Canadians who are familiar with the Todd case would be “shocked” that a 13-year sentence imposed in Canada would be reduced to around a third of that in the Netherlands.
Coban’s Dutch lawyer, Robert Malewicz, called the Canadian sentence “exorbitantly high, even by Canadian standards.”
He said that Coban shouldn’t get any extra prison time, but if he does, it should be no more than one year with six months suspended. That would mean Coban would only have to serve an extra six months if he commits another offense.
Malewicz criticized Canadian authorities for releasing Coban’s personal details, saying he now will forever be linked to the Todd case. Dutch authorities don’t release full names or other identifying details about suspects in criminal cases.
“He will always be recognized,” Malewicz said. “That feels for him like a life sentence.”
The court said it would issue a decision on July 13. The sentencing ruling can be appealed in the Dutch Supreme Court.
The plight of Todd brought the problem of cyberbullying to mainstream attention in Canada.
In sentencing Coban last year, Canadian Justice Martha Devlin said that the “serious impact of the offences on Amanda was obvious to Mr. Coban and would have been obvious to anyone at the time.”
She added that “ruining Amanda’s life was Mr. Coban’s expressly stated goal. Sadly, one that he achieved.”
The girl’s mother said it pleasantly surprised her that four-and-a-half years was asked for.
“I was just in that mindset that it would be zero because of the Dutch laws,” Carol Todd said. “I was not thinking that they could ask for anything.”
She said she believes 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 consequence,” she said.
“I just shake my head over that one,” she said. “You chose to victimize the child and so now you have to pay the consequences for that. If it wasn’t published about him, it would be protecting him and this is about protecting other children.”
Carol Todd said she hopes the judges heed the prosecution’s suggestion.
“If Mr. Coban gets nothing, that sends a message out to predators that they could get away with something scot-free, especially if they offend in other countries,” she said.
“I would love the judge to go above that, but I would hope they wouldn’t go lower than 4½ years.”
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