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Dutch man linked to girl who exposed herself, killed herself

Prosecutors say there were other victims

The Columbian
Published: April 18, 2014, 5:00pm

VANCOUVER, B.C. — Canadian police confirmed an arrest has been made in the Netherlands in the case of a Canadian teenager who was blackmailed into exposing herself in front of a webcam. The 15-year-old later committed suicide after detailing her harassment on a YouTube video watched by millions around the world.

Royal Canadian Mounted Police Insp. Paulette Freill said Thursday that a suspect was arrested in the Netherlands and charged with extortion, luring and criminal harassment and possession of child pornography for the purpose of distribution. The man, 35, is identified under Dutch privacy laws only as “Aydin C.”

Freill declined to release specifics of the case but said there were other victims in Canada and internationally. Dutch prosecutors said the man is suspected of blackmailing girls in the U.S., Britain and the Netherlands. Canadian police said they would seek extradition.

Amanda Todd brought the problem of cyberbullying to mainstream attention in Canada after she posted a video on YouTube in which she told her story with handwritten signs, describing 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.

She was repeatedly bullied, despite changing schools, before killing herself weeks after posting the video.

“This is truly a day we have been waiting for,” said Carol Todd, Amanda’s mother. She wiped away tears as she thanked police.

Dutch prosecutors said they filed indecent assault and child pornography charges against the man. Lawyer Christian van Dijk confirmed that one charge against his client involved a 15-year-old girl from British Columbia.

Aydin C., who has dual Dutch and Turkish nationality, has been in detention since January.

Prosecutors first publicized his case after a preliminary hearing Wednesday at which his detention was extended for three months.

“The suspicions against the man are that he approached underage girls via the Internet and then seduced them into performing sexual acts in front of a webcam,” prosecutors said in a statement.

“He is suspected of subsequently pressurizing them to participate in making new material.”

They noted Aydin C. is also thought to have blackmailed adult men by convincing them that he was an underage boy, convincing them to perform sexual acts on camera, and then threatening to turn the images over to the police.

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