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Parents say police knew of abuse in Amanda Todd case before suicide

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Nov. 15 (UPI) -- Police were alerted at least five times to the sexual extortion of Canadian teen Amanda Todd, who committed suicide last year, her family says.

Amanda, 15, committed suicide at her home on Oct. 10, 2012, after being bullied and blackmailed online for nearly two years, CBC News reported Friday.

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Those blackmailing the teen threatened to post a picture of her flashing her chest if she did not perform more webcam "shows."

The picture, which was captured when the girl flashed a crowd by webcam while on a live streaming chat site, was also circulated at her school. Amanda's classmates allegedly taunted her, calling her "camwhore" and "porn star."

Amanda changed schools, however, the person blackmailing her tracked her down and sent her a message saying, "U already forgot who I am? The guy who last year made you change school. Got your door kicked in by the cops. Give me 3 shows and I will disappear forever. you know I won't stop until you give me those 3 shows."

The teen's mother, Carol Todd, told CBC News that she contacted the Royal Canadian Mounted Police of British Columbia each time Amanda received a new blackmail threat.

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"Nobody dug deep enough to find the answers for Amanda," Todd said. "Maybe for the reasons that no one anticipated her outcome either. So you think of it as just another report, just another child."

After Amanda committed suicide, police made the case a top priority, assigning 20 officers to investigate it. Police have not yet named any of the bullying or blackmailing suspects.

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