A Dutch media outlet is reporting that a 35-year-old local man has been arrested in connection with the online bullying of Amanda Todd.
The 15-year-old Port Coquitlam teen committed suicide in October 2012 after she was bullied online.
Omroep Brabant reports that the unidentified man, who is described as a loner, is suspected of extortion. He reportedly pressured his victims, including Todd, to perform sexual acts on webcam and recorded the images.
Court documents have identified the man as 35-year-old Aydin Coban, a Dutch national of Turkish descent.
Global News spoke to Omroep Brabant reporter Mathijs Pennings, one of the journalists who broke the story, who said “they got it from a reliable source that we know, for a fact, he is linked to the Amanda Todd case.”
The suspects’ lawyer described the man as someone who “has lived in trailer parks for the last few years and is very isolated. He has no wife or children.”
Amanda Todd’s mom, Carol, said the suspect may be one of 30 people and this could be the tip of the iceberg. However Carol went on to say she still feels in her heart that there is a local connection to her daughter’s online bullying. In part due to some details, which had local undertones, people used when harassing her and that someone in Netherlands would not know about Todd’s life in Port Coquitlam.
READ MORE: Amanda Todd’s mom: ‘This is truly a day that we’ve been waiting for
According to Pennings, the suspect is currently in custody and the Dutch police in conjunction with the British and United States police are investigating the case.
“We believe it will run for months now and it will take a long time to get to court.”
The RCMP and the Todd family will be holding a press conference at 5 p.m. to give an update on the investigation.
Video: One year after Amanda Todd’s video goes viral (October 10, 2013)
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