14 DAY TRIAL // Hacker Group Anonymous has named the tormentor of 15-year-old Amanda Todd, who committed suicide on October 10 after years of being blackmailed and bullied. The man has been identified as 32-year-old Kody Maxson of New Westminster, BC.
Todd, 15, of Port Coquitlam, Canada, had previously posted a video titled “My Story: Struggling, Bullying, Suicide and Self-harm,” in which she chronicled her experience with bullying, beatings and a previous attempted suicide, all following blackmail from a previously unknown man.
Amanda Todd had apparently been featured on a website where web cam footage is streamed live. Someone recorded footage of her.
Amanda mentioned in her notes that whoever was doing this knew where she went to school, who her friends were, who her family was, and was even able to locate her as she changed schools.
Footage from Anonymous, featured below, unmasks Maxson, that lives in the Vancouver area, and even gives his exact address.
Police officials fear that vigilantes will attempt to give Amanda some form of final justice. Vancouver defense lawyer Eric Gottardi is warning against that, CBC reports.
"The system isn't supposed to convict someone before charges are laid. It’s not supposed to be judge, jury and executioner, all in the public forum. [...] We have a justice system. It’s supposed to work, it does work," Gottardi says.
Activist group Anonymous has also made claims of the man posting the pictures of Amanda on other websites. She was just 12 when said snapshots were taken, and it is believed that Anonymous hacked into the man's computer to retrieve aforementioned information.
In other developments, the national group cybertip.ca fighting against child exploitation came forward to report they had received a tip about Todd approximately one year ago. The organization claims to have warned law enforcement officials about pictures of the girl being circulated online.
"We did receive one report, and that was passed along to law enforcement as well as child welfare. [...] It was not a report from her, but it was a report from a concerned citizen," spokeswoman Signy Arnason said.
