Close X
Thursday, November 28, 2024
ADVT 
National

Crown begins closing in B.C. extortion trial

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 26 Jul, 2022 12:25 PM
  • Crown begins closing in B.C. extortion trial

Crown and defence counsel have finished calling evidence in the British Columbia Supreme Court trial for the Dutch man accused of harassing and extorting teenager Amanda Todd before she died a decade ago.

Aydin Coban pleaded not guilty at the jury trial in New Westminster to charges of extortion, harassment, communication with a young person to commit a sexual offence and possessing child pornography.

Crown attorney Kristen LeNoble began closing arguments by telling jurors she would spend the next few days helping them "unpack" the evidence, including testimony from more than 30witnesses and binders full of 80 exhibits.

By the time the Crown is finished, LeNoble says they will have proven beyond a reasonable doubt that Coban was the person behind 22 separate online aliases used to harass and extort Todd with child pornography that depicted her.

LeNoble says Todd's harassment began just before her 13th birthday when she received a message that threatened to send a video of her to friends, family and local media.

Crown prosecutor Louise Kenworthy told the jury at the start of the trial last month that the teenager from Port Coquitlam, B.C., had been the victim of a persistent campaign of online "sextortion" over three years before her death in October 2012.

Carol Todd testified that her daughter was scared when she brought messages to her mother's attention, and Amanda's distress increased with each incident.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 26, 2022.

MORE National ARTICLES

BC's Finance Minister Selina Robinson passes leadership bid

BC's Finance Minister Selina Robinson passes leadership bid
Robinson is the second considered front-runner to exclude themselves from a chance at the top job after Jobs Minister Ravi Kahlon recently said he didn't want the post either. Horgan announced last month that he would be stepping down in the fall and the New Democratic Party said Saturday that voting would start in November, with the new leader declared on Dec. 3.

BC's Finance Minister Selina Robinson passes leadership bid

Large blaze west of Lytton, B.C., defies control

Large blaze west of Lytton, B.C., defies control
The BC Wildfire Service says flames were moving west over the weekend, but winds on Sunday fuelled growth on the southern flank, across the Fraser River but closer to Lytton Recovery is just beginning in Lytton, which was mostly wiped out by a wildfire one year ago.  

Large blaze west of Lytton, B.C., defies control

Newton MP Sukh Dhaliwal enters Surrey's mayoral race

Newton MP Sukh Dhaliwal enters Surrey's mayoral race
A strong desire for a return to elected officials who foster unity as well as a back-to-basics approach to delivering top quality services, made the decision to step forward one that was propelled by residents, according to Sukh Dhaliwal.

Newton MP Sukh Dhaliwal enters Surrey's mayoral race

Man threatened to stab a fast food worker over slice of pizza

Man threatened to stab a fast food worker over slice of pizza
Juan Serna, 31, was arrested Friday and is now charged with threats and theft. Incident occurred at a pizza-by-the-slice downtown.

Man threatened to stab a fast food worker over slice of pizza

Abbotsford Police officers hurt in a serious crash after responding to reports of shots fired at a marijuana grow-op

Abbotsford Police officers hurt in a serious crash after responding to reports of shots fired at a marijuana grow-op
No civilians or civilian vehicles were involved in the collision. Two officers were transported to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. George Ferguson Way between McCallum Road and Pauline St. remains closed in both directions.

Abbotsford Police officers hurt in a serious crash after responding to reports of shots fired at a marijuana grow-op

Commons committee to investigate Rogers outage

Commons committee to investigate Rogers outage
The July 8 outage affected Rogers mobile and internet users, knocked out ATMs, shut down the Interac payments system and prevented calls to 911 services in some Canadian cities.

Commons committee to investigate Rogers outage