NEW WESTMINSTER, B.C. — British Columbia teenager Amanda Todd said on Facebook that a “pedophile” had been blackmailing her for years, as she warned people about an account she said the perpetrator operated, a Crown attorney told B.C. Supreme Court.
In closing arguments at the trial of Dutchman Aydin Coban, Kristen LeNoble told the jury that Todd made the post shortly before receiving a message from another Facebook user demanding she perform sexual “shows” on camera, or videos of her exposing her breasts would be sent to her family and classmates.
The teenager from Port Coquitlam, B.C., had recently moved in with her father in a nearby community and started attending a new school, LeNoble said.
Coban has pleaded not guilty to extortion, harassment, communication with a young person to commit a sexual offence and possessing child pornography.
LeNoble began closing arguments Tuesday by telling the jurors the Crown would spend the next few days helping them “unpack” the significant amount of evidence, including testimony from more than 30 witnesses and binders full of 80 exhibits.
By the time they were finished, she said, the Crown would haveproven beyond a reasonable doubt that Coban was the person behind 22 separate online aliases used to extort Toddover several years before she died almost a decade ago.
Some of the messages feigned support and tried to build a trusting relationship with Todd, while others threatened to ruin her life, LeNoble told the jury.
LeNoble showed the jury a message the harasser sent to Todd’s family and school administrators while posing as a member of a child protection agency, which included a link to a pornography website displaying a video of the teenager.
She described how another alias on Facebook was used to send messages with the same link to 99 users from Todd’s friends list on the social networking site.
The harassment began just before Todd turned 13 in November 2009, she said.
“Enough nice-guy act,” said LeNoble, reading from one of the messages where the harasser threatened to publicly distribute a video of Todd exposing her breasts.
“You’re gonna do as you are told … I already have 17 people in your family, 52 schoolmates and teachers of your school through their official site. I can send them this instant, together with child protection agencies, who will go after you,” she read.
“Your life will never be the same … Or you do as I say, and after 10 shows, where you do as I say, I disappear, like nothing happened,” read the message that LeNoble called a “real sledgehammer of a harassing, extorting and luring message.”
Crown prosecutor Louise Kenworthy told the jury at the start of the trial almost two months ago that Todd had been the victim of a persistent campaign of online “sextortion” over three years before her death at age 15 in October 2012.
Carol Todd testified that her daughter was scared when she brought messages to her attention, and Amanda’s distress increased with each incident.
LeNoble showed the jury a message Amanda had sent to her cousin and other people she knew after the video of her exposing her breasts had been distributed.
In the message, Amanda said she had “flashed” about “200 guys” on YouTube the year before because they were “begging” and she “thought it wouldn’t matter.”
The message shows the teenager then wrote she had “wrecked” her life with that video because of the harassment and extortion that followed.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 26, 2022.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — New Zealand won the Women’s T20 World Cup for the first time, beating South Africa by 32 runs on Sunday after a standout performance from Amelia Kerr with bat and ball.
South Africa’s chase was held to 126-9 in 20 overs at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium in reply to New Zealand’s 158-5 in the final of the 18-day tournament.
South Africa was also seeking to become a first-time champion.
After South Africa captain Laura Wolvaardt won the toss and opted to bowl, Kerr top scored for New Zealand with a 38-ball 43. Brooke Halliday hit 38 runs in 28 deliveries and opener Suzie Bates scored 32 in 31. Nonkululeko Mlaba took 2-31 in four overs for South Africa.
South Africa made a strong start to its chase, reaching 51-1 in 6.5 overs but never really threatened afterward, reaching the halfway stage of its innings at 64-3.
Wolvaardt top scored for South Africa with a 27-ball 33.
Kerr took 3-24 in her four overs, including Wolvaardt’s wicket.
This was South Africa’s second straight final appearance in the tournament. Losing to Australia by 19 runs, it had finished runners-up in its home tournament in 2023, its best result in the tournament.
New Zealand, meanwhile, reached the tournament final for the first time since 2010. In the first two editions – 2009 and 2010 – it had lost to England by six wickets in London, and to Australia by three runs in Barbados.
SAO PAULO (AP) — Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on Sunday canceled his trip to Russia for a BRICS summit after an accident at home that left him with a cut in the neck, his office said.
The 78-year-old leader was scheduled to attend a summit of the BRICS bloc of developing economies in the city of Kazan from Tuesday to Thursday this week.
Hospital Sirio Libanês in Sao Paulo said in a statement that the leftist leader was instructed not to take long distance trips, but can keep his other activities. Doctors Roberto Kalil and Ana Heleno Germoglio said they will regularly check on Lula’s recovery.
Brazil’s presidency said in a separate statement that Lula will take part in the summit by videoconference and will continue his work in capital Brasilia this week. It did not disclose details about what caused the president’s injury.
