Dutch court clears cyberbully's extradition to Canada
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — The Dutch Supreme Court on Tuesday approved the extradition to Canada of a convicted cyberbully who faces charges in the case of a Canadian teen who killed herself after being bullied online.
It was not immediately clear when the suspect, identified by Dutch authorities as Aydin C., would be sent to Canada following the court's decision to reject his appeal against a lower court's approval of his extradition. His extradition must be approved by the Dutch security and justice minister.
The 38-year-old was convicted last month by a Dutch court and sentenced to nearly 11 years in prison for cyberbullying dozens of young girls and gay men. An appeal in that case could take months to complete.
In Canada, he faces a separate trial in the cyberbullying of Amanda Todd, a 15-year-old girl whose suicide drew global attention to online abuse.
C. faces charges including extortion, possession of child pornography and attempting to lure a child online linked to Todd's case.
Todd brought cyberbullying to mainstream attention by posting a video on YouTube in 2012 in which she told her story in a series of 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, and she was repeatedly bullied, despite changing schools. She took her own life weeks after posting the video.
Amanda's mother, Carol Todd, said in a tweet that she received the "wake up news" that the extradition "is a YES to Canada!!!"
"Someone victimizes your child, you want them put away forever," she said.
She said the court ruling was a great gift on her birthday. She expects the case could be heard in British Columbia late this year or early 2018.
C.'s lawyer did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.
At his Dutch trial, judges gave him the maximum possible sentence of 10 years and eight months, "because of the devastating consequences his behavior has on the young lives of the girls," and out of fear that he could commit new offenses if released, the court said in a statement.
He pretended to be a boy or girl and persuaded his victims to perform sexual acts in front of a webcam, then posted the images online or blackmailed them by threatening to do so. He was accused of abusing 34 girls and five gay men, behavior the court called "astonishing." In some cases, the abuse lasted years.
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Associated Press Writer Jeremy Hainsworth in Vancouver contributed to this report.
