A conversion hearing for the Dutch national sentenced in Canada to 13 years in jail for his crimes in connection with late Port Coquitlam student Amanda Todd will take place tomorrow (June 29).
The hearing for Aydin Coban to convert his Canadian sentence is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. (12:30 a.m. PDT) at the Amsterdam District Court, said a spokesperson for the Netherlands' Ministry of Justice and Security.
A verdict is expected in two weeks, communications advisor Soemisa Zeiani told the Tri-City News.
Last October, Justice Martha Devlin sentenced Coban to 13 years behind bars on four counts after a 12-person jury at BC Supreme Court in New Westminster found him guilty of five offences:
- extortion
- importing and distributing child pornography
- possession of child pornography
- communicating with the intent to lure a child
- criminal harassment
Devlin, who stayed the third charge, said Coban — now 45 and currently in a Dutch prison on 68 convictions for tormenting 33 girls online — was "callous" and "deliberate" in his actions against Todd for four years.
She took her life in 2012, at the age of 15, in her Port Coquitlam home.
"Ruining Amanda's life was expressly Mr. Coban's goal," Devlin read in her ruling last October that also included a lifetime sex offender order, a 15-year Internet ban and a firearms prohibition.
Amanda's mother, Carol, a School District 43 (SD43) educator in digital literacy, told the Tri-City News this week that she hopes the Dutch court will uphold "some or all of the 13-year Canadian sentence."
"It cannot be forgotten that Mr. Coban exploited, harassed and victimized Amanda, and justice must be served," she said.
"And, with the converted sentence, that would include additional prison time.
"It is a strong message to other exploitators that there are penalties for their actions."
