Dutch man jailed for 10 years for blackmailing victims into webcam sex acts

Some of his victims were harrassed over a period of years, a court hears

Ayden C faces further charges in Canada for the harassment of Amanda Todd, a 15-year-old girl who killed herself in 2012 (Facebook)

A man who blackmailed dozens of young women into performing sex acts in front of webcams has been jailed for almost 11 years.

Ayden C “abused dozens of young girls by gaining their trust through speaking with them on the internet", according to a ruling at an Amsterdam court.

It said the 38-year-old Dutch citizen had then "abused that trust by forcing them to perform sexual acts before their webcams".

It added: "If they refused to do it again, he threatened to send their images to their relatives or to publish them on pornography sites.”

The court heard that some of Ayden C's victims were harassed over a period of years.

Accused of harassing 34 young women and five gay men in countries around the world, including Britain, Canada, Norway and the US, he was found guilty of internet fraud and blackmail and sentenced to 10 years and 243 days in prison.

He faces further charges in Canada for the harassment of Amanda Todd, a 15-year-old girl who killed herself in 2012.

A Dutch court ruled in June that he could be extradited to Canada to stand trial over the death of the teenager, although that decision that is currently under appeal.

Photographs of the teenager’s breasts had been published online, and shortly before her death she posted a video on YouTube describing how she had been victimised by cyber-bullies.

The man, who is identified only by his first name because of privacy laws in the Netherlands, was arrested in January 2014 after police were alerted by Facebook.

Ayden C pleaded not guilty to 72 charges, including extortion, fraud, possession of hard drugs and making and storing child pornography.

The court heard that some of Ayden C's victims were harassed over a period of years.

Ms Todd's mother, Carol Todd, flew from Canada to the Netherlands to attend the February hearings

She told Dutch broadcaster NPO that her daughter would have “wanted to be face to face with him, and tell him what his actions did to her. But she can’t."

She added: "So I’m going to be the one who is sort of standing up for my daughter.”

In a separate interview with Netherlands news agency ANP, she said she that she felt “relieved” at the court's decision.

“I hope that this sentence will help the wounds of all the victims heal. It has been a long journey for all of us in the search for justice for Amanda," she said.