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Man Who Tormented Teen Online Before Her Suicide Gets 13 Years

Amanda Todd, 15, famously posted a video to YouTube shortly before her death detailing the cyberbullying campaign against her.

A man convicted of extorting and harassing a Canadian teenager before she took her own life in 2012 has been sentenced to 13 years in prison. Amanda Todd, 15, famously posted a video to YouTube shortly before her death, detailing a targeted cyberbullying campaign against her that she said had destroyed her life. Dutch citizen Aydin Coban, 44, was found guilty in August of several offenses related to Todd, including child luring and possession of child pornography. Among other things, Coban had asked Todd to perform sex acts on webcam and threatened to leak her nude photos online if she refused. A nude photo of Todd eventually ended up on Facebook, and she later described being bullied over it at school. Coban is currently serving an 11-year sentence in prison in the Netherlands, with two years remaining. His defense team had asked for his punishment in the Todd case to be two years served consecutively with his current sentence. The victim’s mother called the suggestion “laughable” and the court ultimately ruled for a much longer sentence. “Ruining Amanda’s life was his goal and sadly he achieved that,” British Columbia Supreme Court Justice Martha Devlin said.

If you or a loved one are struggling with suicidal thoughts, please reach out to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255), or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting TALK to 741741.