Dutch authorities will not pursue charges against a man in connection with the case of Amanda Todd, the B.C. teenager whose suicide in 2012 spurred a national conversation about cyberbullying.
Aydin Coban has been accused of producing and distributing child pornography of multiple victims, including Todd. But Todd's mother, Carol Todd, told CTV News Channel that, in her understanding, Coban was never charged in the Netherlands in relation to her daughter's case.
She said that authorities in B.C. are still pursuing their own charges against the Dutch man.
In 2014, the RCMP announced that they were laying five charges against Coban, relating to possession of child pornography, extortion, luring and harassment.
"Those charges still stand, and our B.C. Crown is still looking at extraditing him," Carol Todd said.
She added that the RCMP have told her that they're still continuing to pursue their case against Coban.
"There is no talk that they will drop this, so I can only hope that that's what happens," she said.
Todd took her life when she was 15, shortly after she posted a video to YouTube in which she silently used flashcards to describe her encounters with an individual she said tormented her online.
Coban was arrested two years after Todd’s death, amid allegations he pressured underage individuals in several countries to perform sexual acts via webcam, and then blackmailed the victims.
In January of this year, he wrote an open letter denying he was Todd’s “so-called tormentor.”
“I’ve been in jail exactly a year now for things I haven’t done,” he wrote in the letter dated Jan. 13.
None of the allegations against Coban have been proven in any court of law.
Carol Todd said she believes her daughter's death helped raise awareness on the issue of cyberbullying and online harassment.
Earlier this year, Canada’s anti-cyberbullying legislation, Bill C-13 came into effect. First introduced in 2013, the bill makes it illegal to distribute intimate images of a person without their consent.
As well, there are now several online resources to help families understand how to protect themselves against cyberbullying, Carol Todd said.
"Prior to Amanda's death, it was very quiet. We only talked about it on quiet terms, or in small-group settings," she said.
