Dutch man charged in Amanda Todd case allegedly targeted 2nd Canadian child
Aydin Coban is on trial in the Netherlands for charges linked to 34 children around the world
The Dutch man accused of cyberbullying B.C. teen Amanda Todd is also charged with targeting a second Canadian victim, prosecutors in the Netherlands revealed Wednesday.
Aydin Coban, 38, is currently being tried in Europe on charges in relation to alleged abuse of 34 other young girls and five gay men.
On the first day of the trial, spokesman Wim de Bruin confirmed that at least one of those alleged victims was Canadian, aside from Todd.
Coban's alleged victims live in countries including the Netherlands, Australia, Norway, the U.K. and the U.S., according to the Dutch prosecution office.
Charges against him include blackmail, co-perpetration of rape, attempted rape and seduction. He's also accused of several crimes related to child pornography, according to a court summary.
Coban is facing five separate charges in Canada in relation to the Todd case, including possession of child pornography and extortion.
He's set to be extradited for that trial after the Dutch proceedings conclude, although he's appealed to stay in the Netherlands.
CBC News has reached out to the RCMP for more information about the alleged second Canadian victim.
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Dutch prosecutors allege Coban used a variety of online aliases on online chat sites to portray himself as a woman in order to commit his crimes. He allegedly befriended teen girls and boys as he prowled the internet hunting for victims.
He would persuade them to strip in front of their webcams and then take pictures to blackmail them, according to prosecutors.
Coban denies all of the charges.
Todd, who lived in Port Coquitlam, B.C., drew global attention to online abuse when she posted a YouTube video recounting her ordeal in 2012.
The 15-year-old committed suicide a few weeks later.
Carol Todd, Amanda's mother, plans to attend the Dutch trial and is scheduled to leave Vancouver on Feb. 4.
"It's become more real," she said, noting that court proceedings have been postponed several times.
"It's a good feeling [that the trial is underway], but it also brings back a lot of memories and emotions.… it's not easy."
She thinks seeing the accused in person will be part of the "healing process."
"Amanda never saw who he was … I feel that this is the right thing," she said.
Todd brought the problem of cyberbullying to mainstream attention in Canada and around the world in 2012, after she told her story through a YouTube video.
Using handwritten signs, she described how she was lured by a stranger to expose her breasts on a webcam.
The picture ended up on a Facebook page made by the stranger, to which her friends were added. Todd said she was repeatedly bullied — despite changing schools — before finally taking her own life.
With files from CBC's Farrah Merali and Thomas Daigle and The Associated Press