Catfish killer Alexander McCartney was sentenced to 20 years in prison

image source, Getty Images

Although investigators believe that as many as 3,500 children were targeted; this case focused on 70 of them to provide a controlled caseload for the court.

In 2019, it was confirmed that the Police Service of Northern Ireland had established a “special team” to specifically look into the McCartney case due to the number of potential victims.

Identifying the alleged victims has become a “mammoth task”, the court was previously told, with the investigation stretching as far as New Zealand.

The court heard that 12 computer devices were initially seized after McCartney’s arrest.

It was explained that these devices had the ability to emulate other computers, giving the operator the ability to contact four times as many victims.

“Each emulator has 760 folders, and each of these folders identifies one victim,” the prosecutor said.

“There is a small sample that is being put forward for prosecution, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg.”

A total of 64 devices were found in four separate raids at his home in rural Lissummon Road, near Newry.

These devices contained thousands of images of violence.