The Crown Counsel prosecuting Aydin Coban in the “sextortion” trial involving Port Coquitlam student Amanda Todd closed their case this morning (Aug. 2) after nine weeks at B.C. Supreme Court in New Westminster.
Lead prosecutor Louise Kenworthy told Justice Martha Devlin and the 12-person jury that there is so much evidence against the Dutch citizen that it would be “preposterous to think anybody else but Mr. Coban” was at the controls.
At the end of her closing arguments, Kenworthy pointed to devices and information that police seized from a rented home in the Netherlands that she says conclusively links him to the offences.
Coban, 44, has pleaded not guilty to:
- extortion
- importing and distributing child pornography
- possession of child pornography
- communicating with the intent to lure a child
- criminal harassment
None of the allegations is proven in court.
In her submissions, Kenworthy referenced one device taken by Dutch National Police on the day Coban was arrested, on Jan. 13, 2014, that had a notice of termination in Coban’s name.
On other devices, forensic police experts found associations to aliases that Kenworthy claimed Coban created and used to chat and webcam with Todd.
Yet another seized device contained an employment letter and ING bank statements in Coban’s name, as well as similar folder pathway names used on other devices.
In addition, communication sent out from the devices was in English, Dutch and Turkish — all languages that Coban’s friend testified Coban spoke with him, Kenworthy told the court.
She also pointed to an IP address that she said was used to connect to a neighbour's Wi-Fi router, as well as computer bookmarks on the devices — one of which was for Thomann, a European musical instrument shop.
Crown Counsel showed an image from the rented home in the Netherlands that had a box with the word “Thomann” across it.
“Another piece of evidence to add to the pile,” Kenworthy told the jury.
Further, Kenworthy noted the “treasure trove” of deleted data recovered by police from a device.
Among them:
- an email address from a woman who testified she was hoping to rent a Rotterdam apartment from a person who she said was Coban
- a phone number that was provided to the same woman and was also used to register online aliases
- the name of the last municipality that Coban lived in
- two email addresses that were variations of previous aliases used to chat with Todd
“The only person who would have done this is Aydin Coban,” Kenworthy alleged. “Who else but Mr. Coban would have put this information on the computer?”
She added before the jury, “This is a clear case…. All roads lead to Mr. Coban. He was the person who committed these offences. I ask you to find him guilty on all charges.”
Defence counsel is expected to start their closing arguments this afternoon.
The trial continues.
