Close X
Sunday, December 1, 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

B.C. cabinet minister not running for NDP leader

B.C. cabinet minister not running for NDP leader
Horgan announced last week that he'll resign as leader in the fall after the party holds a leadership convention, saying his second bout with cancer left him with little energy for the job. Kahlon says he's throwing his support for the new leader behind Attorney General David Eby, who has yet to announce if he is running.

B.C. cabinet minister not running for NDP leader

Head-on crash in B.C. Interior kills three

Head-on crash in B.C. Interior kills three
Police say witnesses report a black sedan crossed into the path of an oncoming westbound SUV, hitting it head on. The RCMP say the crash killed a 51-year-old Sorrento man, a 67-year old woman and a 60-year-old man, both from Blind Bay.

Head-on crash in B.C. Interior kills three

Questions remain after B.C. bank shootout

Questions remain after B.C. bank shootout
Twenty-two-year-old Mathew and Isaac Auchterlonie of Duncan, B.C., were killed by police in a shootout that left six officers injured outside a Bank of Montreal branch in Saanich on June 28.    

Questions remain after B.C. bank shootout

Multi-vehicle collision on 176 Street in Surrey leads to road closure

Multi-vehicle collision on 176 Street in Surrey leads to road closure
Southbound lanes of 176 Street are closed from 88 Avenue to 96 Avenue. The investigation is in the early stages and it is unknown how long the road closure will remain in effect.

Multi-vehicle collision on 176 Street in Surrey leads to road closure

Women grads more likely to access CERB: StatCan

Women grads more likely to access CERB: StatCan
Statistics Canada compared the proportion of 2010 to 2018 graduates who received CERB based on educational and socio-demographic characteristics to the proportion of all workers who received the benefit.

Women grads more likely to access CERB: StatCan

Review of COVID shot for young kids to wrap soon

Review of COVID shot for young kids to wrap soon
Health Canada tweeted Tuesday that it expects to reach a decision by mid-July on whether to approve Moderna's shot for children between six months and five years old. Moderna has applied for its vaccine to be given in two doses, each a quarter of its adult dose, given about four weeks apart.

Review of COVID shot for young kids to wrap soon