Amanda Todd was a 15-year old Canadian. A stranger online peer pressured her to expose her breasts which she did and he later blackmailed her and told her he would send them to her friends unless she gives him a ‘show’. The perpetrator placed her photos on a paedophile site, which was used for grooming young people into nudity or sexual acts.
In 2010, police let Todd know that her photo was circulating on the internet and her family moved to a new home. The perpetrator started sending her picture to those at her new school, after this she was bullied and had to change schools.
Todd started chatting to an old male friend who had contacted her and he invited her to his house where they had sex when his girlfriend was on holiday. A week later, the girlfriend and a group of 15 others assaulted her. It was after this she attempted suicide but survived after being rushed to the hospital.
Her family moved to a different city and Todd received counselling, but the students and the perpetrator continued to bully her which resulted in her suffering from depression.
She committed suicide at her family home in Port Coquitlam, British Columbia, Canada on 10 October 2012. At the end of her life she posted a 9 minute video on YouTube where she used flashcards about how she was bullied and had been physically assaulted.
Her death gained public and media attention, which brought awareness to cyberbullying, harassment, and her mother, Carol created the Amanda Todd trust, to support anti-bullying education programs.
A police investigation took place which led them to a man who used the name ‘Aydin C.’ online who had numerous victims in the Netherlands, England and Canada. On his computer they found chat logs and child pornography. Dutch-Turkish man, Aydin Coban showed no remorse and was imprisoned for targeting and harassing around 39 victims online. He was found guilty in 2022 and was sentenced to 13 years in prison. Todd’s mother said that there was more than one person who was involved in her daughter’s harassment and bullying.
#amandatodd #bullying #cyberbullying #truecrime
