35-yr-old Dutch national facing at least five charges in connection with suicide of BC's Amanda Todd
By Castlegar Source
In a live press conference Thursday, Coquitlam RCMP confirmed what Dutch media had already reported: that a 35-year-old man has been charged in connection with the abuse, bullying and victimization that ultimately led to the suicide of 15-year-old BC resident Amanda Todd.
According to Dutch media reports, the man is facing five charges, including extortion, internet luring, criminal harassment and the possession and distribution of child pornography. He is accused of luring and sexually exploiting victims in Europe, the UK, the US and Canada.
The man’s name has not yet been released.
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The suicide of B.C.’s 15-year-old Amanda Todd (in October 2012) is being rehashed in the media after a much-publicized arrest in the Netherlands, of a 35-year-old man whom police are not confirmiing may have been one of Todd’s tormentors.
Police issue the following statement this afternoon:
The RCMP in British Columbia is aware of the investigation in the
Netherlands that has resulted in the arrest of a 35-year-old male in the
Netherlands and subsequent charges being laid related to possession and
distribution of child pornography and the extortion of Dutch victims.
Link to Dutch release:
http://www.om.nl/actueel/nieuwsberichten/@162603/suspect-arrested/
The RCMP in B.C. will be holding a news conference to provide an update
on the Amanda Todd investigation. Representatives from the RCMP and the Todd family will be in attendance.
This complex investigation has national and international connections.
Due to the sensitivity and complexity of this investigation, no further
details will be released and no interviews will be granted prior to the
news conference.
Dutch news release:
Suspect arrested in international investigation into illegal webcam sex
16 april 2014 – Landelijk Parket
The National Public Prosecutor’s Office has instituted criminal proceedings against a 35-year-old man who is suspected of inciting underage girls to perform sexual acts in front of a webcam. Via the internet, the suspect is thought to have victimized dozens of girls in several countries, in any case in the Netherlands, the UK, and the U.S.
The National Public Prosecutor’s Office gave this announcement today at an initial pro forma hearing in this case at the Amsterdam District Court. The court extended the suspect’s pretrial detention for a further three months.
The 35-year-old suspect was arrested in mid January in the Tilburg area in the Netherlands. The suspicions against the man are that he approached underage girls via the internet and then seduced them into performing sexual acts in front of a webcam. He is suspected of subsequently pressurizing them to participate in making new material. The investigation has not revealed any indications that the suspect abused his victims physically.
It has not yet been ascertained how many girls the suspect approached. The investigation is well underway and is focusing on identifying victims, who are then informed about the investigation and offered victim support.
The suspect probably also defrauded adult men living outside the Netherlands. These men performed sexual acts in front of the webcam on the assumption that they were in internet contact with an underage boy. The suspect is thought to have blackmailed the men by threatening to hand the images over to the police.
The 35-year-old man is currently in pretrial detention on charges of indecent assault, the production and dissemination of child pornography, fraud, computer intrusion, and the possession of hard drugs.
The National Public Prosecutor’s Office and the police are cooperating closely with the authorities in other countries, including the UK National Crime Agency.
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