Anonymous hackers claim to have identified the man who tormented Canadian teen Amanda Todd to the point she committed suicide.
The “hacktivists”, understood to be associated with infamous hacker group Anonymous, say the 32-year-old man is a former Facebook employee who lives in British Columbia, Canada.
The group posted the name, address, username and email for the man they believe is responsible for circulating a topless image of Amanda to blackmail her.
Amanda killed herself at the age of 15, five weeks after posting a video online in which she told of years of bullying and abuse.
In the nine-minute video, posted on September 7, the 10th-grader didn't speak but told her story in haunting detail in a series of handwritten notes that she held up to the camera.
Canadian broadcaster CTV reported they had made contact with an Anonymous member, who confirmed the group was responsible for the attack, saying:
“We generally don’t like to deal with police first hand but were compelled to put our skills to good use protecting kids.
“Ironically we have some good people in Vancouver who brought this to our admin’s attention. It’s a very sad story that affects all of us.”
In a post on website Pastebin, Anonymous claimed the man had “extorted" Amanda Todd for pictures.
“This is the paedophile that social engineers Amanda Todd into supplying him nude pictures.”
Anonymous described the man as an “abomination to our society” and said he “will be punished”.
According to Canada’s National Post, a man with a similar name was in Surrey provincial court Monday on charges of sexual assault and sexual interference of a person under 16 stemming from a separate incident in Surrey on August 1.
- If you or someone you know is feeling distressed - free and confidential support is available from organisations like Youthline (0800 37 66 33), Lifeline (0800 543 354) or the Depression Helpline (0800 111 757).
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