Keylogger trapped Amanda Todd blackmailer

In the investigation into suspected sex offender Aydin C. from Oisterwijk, the Public Prosecution Authority (OM) used keylogger software to patch together the case against the man who is suspected of seducing Canadian Amanda Todd, Nieuwsuur reports.

According to Nieuwsuur, who was able to see the criminal file, the software is being used by the OM to record what messages went from Aydin C. to his victims. The software also takes regular screenshots of webcam images and chat conversations.

In 2012, 15-year-old Canadian Amanda Todd committed suicide. In a YouTube clip, she explains how her life was ruined because a man blackmailed her into taking nude images of herself via webcam. He then spread these around to her friends.

The 35-year-old suspect in this case, Aydin C. from Oisterwijk, was arrested in January. The OM suspects him of nine cases of sexual offense. The case against him states that he seduced underage girls, as well as adult men, into performing sexual acts on webcam, using the images as blackmail.

This keylogger software is controversial. Professor of cyber security Bart Jacobs at Radboud University says that it is "on the edge" of the law. "To my knowledge this is the first time that the use of a keylogger is explicitly being admitted to. I'm wondering to what extent this fits into the current law", the professor tells Nieuwsuur.

Aydin C. will appear before the judge on Thursday.

The Todd case is not being prosecuted in The Netherlands. The OM is leaving the criminal case to Canada, because it has been running there for years.