How perpetrator in ‘biggest catfish case in UK’ finally jailed for life – Crime

The man behind the ‘biggest catfish case’ the UK has ever seen has finally been freed after one of his young victims bravely reported the abuse to the police.

Alexander McCartney was imprisoned for life at Belfast Crown Court yesterday (October 25), a judge ruled he must serve at least 20 years behind bars before being considered for release.

Police said the 26-year-old, from County Armagh, Northern Ireland, “abused on an industrial scale” and is suspected of targeting 3,500 children in 30 countries by posing as a teenage girl. social networks.

computer science student who pleaded guilty to 185 charges involving at least 70 children around the world worldbefriended young people on online platforms before discovering he had “caught” them and began his blackmail.

He would send disturbing messages to children demanding lewd images and then threatening to release the photos if they didn’t do what he said.

One of his victims, 12-year-old Kimarron Thomas, tragically took her own life in May 2018 rather than comply with McCartney’s demands to involve her younger sister in the violence.

The USA the schoolgirl’s father, Ben, committed suicide 18 months later.

How Alexander McCartney was caught

McCartney did his terrible crimes from his bedroom in his childhood home, and despite his previous run-ins with the law, he was only brought to justice after a 13-year-old girl had the courage to report his plot to the police.

A victim from Scotland contacted authorities in the spring of 2019, who then contacted the Police of Northern Ireland (PSNI) to alert detectives.

Acting head of serious crime at the Crown Prosecution Service, Kathryn Kierans, recalled how she was told “something big was going on” that “involved catfishing”. in BBC.

Explaining that he abused ’24/7′ and threatened young people in ‘the most depraved way’, she revealed how McCartney’s victims played a key role in bringing down the predator.

“Some of the kids raised the alarm, which helped the police actually identify him,” Kierans said. “But some kids, until the police come knocking on the door, they never tell anyone what they’ve been through.

“From the beginning, the level of abuse was so horrific that we were afraid, are they going to be OK when these children are identified?

“Unfortunately, our worst fears came true when we discovered somewhere inside that one of the little girls had taken her own life.

“Working closely with the US authorities, we were able to prove that this child took her own life in an act of violence while she was still online with McCartney.

“At that point, the child’s death was so inextricably linked to abuse that we felt we had a strong case to say he killed her.”

McCartney was prosecuted

McCartney first came under police radar in January 2016 when officers seized numerous electronic devices, including four laptops, eight tablets and nine mobile phones, which contained 3,490 indecent images.

He was arrested and released on bail the following month, and his home was raided again in March 2018.

In March 2019, police returned to his property again after a 13-year-old victim reported the abuse and he was eventually arrested on multiple charges on 30 July 2019, RTE reports.

Police said in a press release that they seized a total of 64 devices belonging to McCartney that contained “tens of thousands of photos and videos of underage girls engaged in sexual acts during blackmail.”

He pleaded guilty to the involuntary manslaughter of Kimarron Thomas and pleaded guilty to 59 counts of blackmail along with a number of charges of distributing indecent images and inciting children to commit sexual acts.

Mr Justice O’Hara told Belfast Crown Court that “there are young girls all over the world with younger siblings whose childhoods have been affected by this defendant”.

The judge described the 26-year-old’s crimes as acts of “sadism and depravity”, saying he was “ruthless” and “ignored numerous opportunities to stop” and that he “ignored numerous pleas for mercy”.

The court heard that McCartney’s offenses took place between 2014 and 2019, starting when he was 17.

Kierans said it was “one of the most disturbing and prolific cases of child sexual abuse we have ever seen at PPS”, but some of the victims have still not been identified despite police efforts.

“McCartney’s crimes have harmed thousands of children and left them and their families dealing with the traumatic consequences,” she added.

“Their courage is in stark contrast to his cowardice in attacking 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 in custody at Maghaberry Prison since 2019.

If you are experiencing any of these issues and want to talk to someone in confidence, please don’t suffer alone. Call Samaritans for free on their anonymous 24/7 helpline 116 123.

If you are experiencing any of these problems and would like to speak to someone in confidence about your child’s welfare, contact the NSPCC on 0808 800 5000 between 10am and 8pm Monday to Friday. If you are a child looking for advice and support, call Childline free on 0800 1111, 24/7.