The man behind the 'largest catfish case' the UK has ever seen was finally brought down after one of his young victims bravely reported his abuse to police.
Alexander McCartney was jailed for life at Belfast Crown Court yesterday (25 October), with a judge ordering that he must serve at least 20 years behind bars before he will be considered for release.
Police said the 26-year-old, from County Armagh, Northern Ireland, was 'abusing on an industrial scale' and is suspected to have targeted as many as 3,500 children in 30 countries while posing as a teenage girl on social media.
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The computer science student, who admitted to 185 charges involving at least 70 children across the world, would befriend youngsters on online platforms before revealing he had 'catfished' them and beginning his blackmail.
He would send the children disturbing messages asking for indecent images, then threaten to expose the pictures unless they did what he said.
One of his victims, 12-year-old Cimarron Thomas, tragically took her own life in May 2018 instead of complying with McCartney's demands to involve her younger sister in the abuse.
The US schoolgirl's father, Ben, then took his own life 18 months later.
How Alexander McCartney was caught
McCartney carried out his horrific crimes from his bedroom in his childhood home and despite him having run ins with the law previously, he was only brought to justice after a 13-year-old girl courageously reported his plot to police.
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The victim, from Scotland, contacted authorities in spring 2019, who then got in touch with police in Northern Ireland (PSNI) to alert detectives.
The acting head of the Public Prosecution Service’s serious crime unit, Catherine Kierans, recalled how she was informed that something 'big was unfolding' which 'involved catfishing', according to the BBC.
Explaining he offended 'around the clock' and threatened youngsters in the 'most depraved way', she told how McCartney's victims played a pivotal role in bringing the predator down.
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"Some of the children had raised the alarm, which helped police to actually identify him in the first place," Kierans said. "But some of the children, until police knocked the door, they had never told anyone what they'd been through.
"From the beginning, the level of abuse was so horrific that we were fearful that when these children were identified, would they be okay?
“Unfortunately, our worst fears were realised when we discovered, some way in, that one of the little girls had taken her own life.
“Working closely with the American authorities, we were able to prove that this child took her own life during the abuse, when she was still online with McCartney.
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"At that point, the death of the child was so intrinsically linked to the abuse that we felt we had a strong case to say that he killed her."
McCartney brought to justice
McCartney first came on police's radar in January 2016 when officers seized numerous electronic devices - including four laptops, eight computer tablets and nine mobile phones - which were found to contain 3,490 indecent images.
He was arrested the following month before being released on bail, ahead of his home being searched again in March 2018.
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Cops then returned to his property again in March 2019 after the 13-year-old victim reported his abuse and he was eventually arrested on numerous charges on 30 July, 2019, RTE reports.
Police said in a press release that they had seized a total of 64 devices belonging to McCartney which contained 'tens of thousands of photos and videos of underage girls performing sexual acts whilst being blackmailed'.
He pleaded guilty to manslaughter over Cimarron Thomas' death and also admitted to 59 counts of blackmail along with a slew of charges of distributing indecent images and inciting children to engage in sexual activity.
Mr Justice O’Hara told Belfast Crown Court that there were 'young girls, with younger siblings, all over the world, whose childhoods have been scarred by this defendant'.
The judge described the 26-year-old's crimes as actions of 'sadism and depravity', saying he was 'remorseless' and 'ignored multiple opportunities to stop' and that he 'ignored multiple pleas for mercy'.
The court heard that McCartney's offending took place from 2014 to 2019, beginning when he was 17 years old.
Kierans said that it was 'one of the most distressing and prolific cases of child sexual abuse we have ever seen in the PPS', but some of the victims have still not been identified despite the efforts of police.
"McCartney's crimes have harmed thousands of children and left them and their families dealing with the traumatic aftermath," she added.
"Their courage stands in stark contrast to his cowardice in targeting vulnerable young girls."
McCartney must serve 20 years in prison before being considered for parole, but the five years he has already spent in custody will count towards his sentence.
He has been on remand in Maghaberry Prison since 2019.
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence, please don’t suffer alone. Call Samaritans for free on their anonymous 24-hour phone line on 116 123.
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence regarding the welfare of a child, contact the NSPCC on 0808 800 5000, 10am-8pm Monday to Friday. If you are a child seeking advice and support, call Childline for free on 0800 1111, 24/7.
Topics: Crime, Technology, UK News, World News, Social Media
Olivia Burke