Supreme Court confirms 6 year prison sentence for extortion of Amanda Todd
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The Supreme Court confirmed that Adyin C. must serve six years in prison for the extortion of Canadian teen girl Amanda Todd, ultimately leading to her suicide. A Canadian court sentenced him to 13 years in prison, but a Dutch court converted that to 6 years according to the Dutch standards. That conversion will be upheld, the Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday.
In 2018, a Dutch court sentenced C to 11 years in prison for digitally stalking 33 minor girls and scamming four gay men. Amanda Todd’s extortion and suicide did not form part of this trial. The man was then extradited to Canada in 2020 to stand trial for Todd’s case.
In October 2022, a Canadian court sentenced C. to 13 years in prison for extorting Amanda Todd. In December 2023, the court in Amsterdam sentenced C. to six years in prison for the crime, translating the Canadian sentence to Dutch terms. The Dutch Public Prosecution Service (OM) had recommended he serve 4.5 years for extorting the girl. C. lodged an appeal in cassation with the Supreme Court.
C.’s lawyers argued that Todd’s case could have been considered part of the Dutch case involving the 33 other girls, citing Article 63 of the Dutch Criminal Code, which regulates the maximum sentence that can be imposed if a person has committed multiple crimes that could have been assessed simultaneously. C. already got the maximum sentence for extorting the 33 other girls, so the sentence for Todd’s extortion should have been converted to zero days in prison, the lawyer argued.
But like the Amsterdam court, the Supreme Court ruled that Article 64 does not apply to conversion proceedings. “Under the applicable regulations, there is no obligation in conversion proceedings to consider prior convictions in Dutch criminal proceedings for a separate offense,” the Supreme Court said.
Amanda Todd took her own life in 2012 at the age of 15. The Canadian teenager’s suicide made headlines worldwide due to a video she posted online, telling on flashcards how she was convinced to send nudes to a man she thought loved her, and then blackmailed and extorted with them.
