R. v. Coban

The Cyber Blog IndiaCase Summary

Appeal against the final sentencing in a case of online sextortion where a minor victim suffered for over 3 years

R. v. Coban
2022 BCSC 1810
In the Supreme Court of British Columbia
Docket X078463
Before Justice Devlin
Decided on October 14, 2022

Relevancy of the Case: Appeal against the final sentencing in a case of online sextortion where a minor victim suffered for over 3 years

Statutes and Provisions Involved

  • The Criminal Code, 1985 (Section 163.1, 172.1, 264, 346)

Relevant Facts of the Case

  • In 2012, AT, a British Canadian teenager, tragically died by suicide. She was the victim of sexual extortion by the accused, Coban.
  • From November 2009 to February 2012, he bombarded AT with over 700 messages on Facebook, YouTube, and Skype. He used a total of 22 different aliases and pressured her into performing webcam shows over 28 months.
  • He issued persistent online threats, including threats of sharing compromising images and videos with her family and friendly.
  • On October 10, 2012, she uploaded a nine-minute video. In this video, she used stark flashcards to detail the relentless abuse she endured before tragically taking her own life.

Prominent Arguments by the Counsel

  • The Crown’s counsel argued that the accused is at a high risk of reoffending and should be separated from society. The counsel also pointed out multiple aggravating factors and the absence of mitigating factors.
  • The accused’s counsel proposed a global sentence of 2 years for Dutch offences and 6 years of concurrent sentence for other offences. The prosecution has mischaracterised the accused’s activities as the dominant cause of the victim’s death.

Opinion of the Bench

  • There was sufficient evidence to support that the accused was the sender of messages from all aliases.
  • The videos distributed by the accused of the victim with her breasts exposed constituted child pornography due to their depiction for a sexual purpose.
  • The trial court considered denunciation and deterrence as primary objectives in sentencing, reflecting the society’s understanding of the severity of offences against children.
  • The accused’s sentence for committing online sextortion was not concurrent due to the nature of the majority of the messages. 13-year imprisonment is appropriate, considering the severity of the offence.

Final Decision

  • The court adjourned the matter and passed an order for 13 13-year jail term for the accused.

Adyasha Sahoo, an undergraduate student at the Institute of Law, Nirma University Ahmedabad, Khilansha Mukhija, an undergraduate student at the Institute of Law, Nirma University Ahmedabad, and Yagyanseni Acharya, an undergraduate student at VIT School of Law, Chennai, prepared this case summary during their internship with The Cyber Blog India in January/February 2024.