National

Defence in Todd case now seeks 2-year sentence

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 13 Oct, 2022 12:29 PM

NEW WESTMINSTER, B.C. - A defence lawyer for a man convicted of luring and sexually exploiting British Columbia teen Amanda Todd says a six-year sentence he originally asked for should be reduced to two years.

Joseph Saulnier told a sentencing hearing in B.C. Supreme Court that his client is already serving an 11-year sentence for similar offences against 33 young victims in the Netherlands and more prison time would be "unduly harsh."

Saulnier is now seeking a two-year term to be served after Aydin Coban's Dutch sentence is completed in August 2024, and says the Canadian sentence would be for the same course of wrongful conduct.

Justice Martha Devlin questioned Saulnier's reasoning several times, saying she is not bound by the Dutch regime and suggesting that the offences against Todd are a separate matter.

Coban was extradited to Canada to face a trial in the Todd case and is serving his Dutch sentence at the North Fraser Pretrial Centre in Port Coquitlam, Todd's hometown.

Crown attorney Louise Kenworthy has asked for a 12-year sentence to be served after the completion of Coban's Dutch term, saying he tormented Todd online for over two years and that his conduct was a dominant factor in her suicide at age 15.

Prev Next

MORE National ARTICLES

Surrey Mayor Doug McCallum says he is going to build a 60,000 person stadium

Apart from this, the mayor announced at the groundbreaking ceremony that he will be building the largest stadium in Canada. "Part of our commitments is that we're going to say as part of our SSC is we are going to build a 60,000 person arena in Surrey“.

Surrey Mayor Doug McCallum says he is going to build a 60,000 person stadium

7 stolen Lexus loaded into two shipping containers inside a Surrey salvage yard, 3 youths plead guilty

19 year old Mohammed Bouterra, 22 year old Al Rifai, and 21 year old Yahya Zitouni pleaded guilty to theft of motor vehicles, possession of stolen property for the purpose of trafficking and use of computer system with intent to commit an offence.

7 stolen Lexus loaded into two shipping containers inside a Surrey salvage yard, 3 youths plead guilty

B.C. family doctors get $118M lifeline

British Columbia is experiencing a crisis in access to health care and nearly one million residents do not have a family doctor. The total $118 million in funding is available to about 3,480 family doctors who have their own practices and 1,100 working in walk-in clinics.

B.C. family doctors get $118M lifeline

Witnesses asked to come forward following robbery with weapon at grocery store

New Westminster Police Department rushed to the scene and located someone matching the suspect description a few blocks away. At the time of the arrest, officers located a knife nearby. Since his arrest, 31 year old Christopher Agostino of Surrey has been charged with two counts of robbery.

Witnesses asked to come forward following robbery with weapon at grocery store

Humanitarian crises worsen immigration backlog

As of the end of July, approximately 1.3 million immigration applications in the system have taken longer to process than the government's service standards dictate they should. That's about 54 per cent of all the pending applications in the system.

Humanitarian crises worsen immigration backlog

40 from camp accept accommodation: BC Housing

City manager Paul Mochrie says workers are removing two tonnes of material per day from the encampment on East Hastings Street. Mochrie says it's difficult to provide a precise number of tents and structures that have been removed, but seven out of 10 zones deemed the highest risk have been cleared.