How Britain’s top catfish predator targeted 3,500 children online, driving one to suicide – Firstpost

Northern Irishman Alexander McCartney, who exploited more than 3,000 children online, was sentenced to at least 20 years in prison on Friday, October 25. The 26-year-old catfisher has been described as one of the world’s most prolific child sexual abusers.

Some of his victims were as young as four-year-old girls. His blackmail even drove one of the girls to suicide in West Virginia, United States. McCartney’s victims were located all over the world, including America, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Australia and at least 26 other countries.

Who is Alexander McCartney? How did he prey on young girls? We will explain.

Alexander McCartney, Britain’s prolific ‘catfish’ killer

Alexander McCartney grew up outside Newry, Northern Ireland. He was a computer science student at Ulster University when he was charged in 2019. BBC.

McCartney was interested in gaming and has been described as “introverted and socially awkward”.

A source told BBC News“He didn’t interact much with people outside his group of friends.
“Maybe he was on the edge of things, but he had friends who didn’t know anything about it.”

A resident who lived near his home said McCartney “came across as a nice, kind and intelligent young man.” There’s nothing extraordinary about him.”

Alexander McCartney’s many crimes

McCartney proved that he was far from ordinary. He pretended to be a teenage girl to befriend other girls on Snapchat before abusing and blackmailing them.

according to GuardIt is believed to be the UK’s worst catfishing offender.
Catfishing is when a person creates a false identity for the purpose of deceiving and exploiting another person.

Detective Superintendent Eamonn Corrigan of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) described McCartney as a “disgusting child predator” who “committed crimes on an industrial scale”. AFP.

according to BBC He tricked the victims into thinking they were talking to a girl the same age on social media, the report said. He would then encourage them to share the inappropriate images. After receiving the picture, “
catfish” and blackmail the victim into participating in sexual acts.

Corrigan said McCartney “threatened to share these images online for the pleasure of other pedophiles and to use them to further abuse and harass already terrorized and exploited children.”

In one case, he groomed, sexually abused and blackmailed a 12-year-old girl in just nine minutes. BBC.

He targeted girls who were gay or exploring their sexuality, operating from the bedroom of the family home in the rural Lissummon Road area outside Newry.

“Sitting in his childhood bedroom in Newry, he began committing crimes at a young age and established what can only be described as a pedophilia enterprise,” Corrigan told reporters outside Belfast Crown Court.

“McCartney is a dangerous, relentless, cruel pedophile,” he said. AFP.

Announcing the predator’s sentence, Judge John O’Hara noted how McCartney in some cases forced victims to include their younger siblings, including those aged three to five.

He made this request to Cimarron Thomas, a 12-year-old American boy who took his own life in 2018. McCartney instructed her to include her younger sister in the sex acts he pressured her into, but Cimarron refused. AFP.

She threatened to share intimate photos of herself with her father, Ben Thomas, a US Army veteran.
An investigation three years later found that Cimarron shot himself three minutes after the blackmail conversation.

The teenager, who was visibly distressed during the abuse, told McCartney that he would contact the police and commit suicide. She brutally told him she didn’t care and even started a countdown to when she would share her pictures. Guard report.

“He may have pulled the trigger himself. “There’s only one place for him, and that’s behind bars,” Corrigan reportedly said.

Cimarron’s body was found by his nine-year-old sister. Eighteen months later, her grieving father Ben also died by suicide, not knowing why his daughter took her life.

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Accusations against Alexander McCartney

Announcing McCartney’s sentence, judge John O’Hara said he “does not know of any case where the defendant has used social media on an industrial scale to cause such horrific and devastating harm to young girls, including the death of a 12-year-old boy.” year old girl”.

“The defendant showed no remorse. He ignored multiple opportunities to stop, ignored multiple pleas for mercy. He lied, lied, and then lied again,” he added.

McCartney was arrested several times between 2016 and 2019 but continued to prey on young girls despite his bail conditions.

Judge O’Hara said the former computer science student continued to hurl insults “in an even more malicious, dramatic and appalling manner” even after his third arrest.

McCartney pleaded guilty to 185 charges, including manslaughter and blackmail involving 70 children, producing and distributing indecent images and encouraging children to engage in sexual activity, including penetration.

O’Hara said McCartney’s “depravity” caused his victims to experience “depression, anxiety, stress, shame, embarrassment, loss of confidence, difficulty trusting others.”

He said: “Many have had their childhood stolen. Some attempted suicide. Others report thoughts of self-harm and suicide. Whatever remorse the defendant is trying to convince me of now, he was absolutely devoid of remorse at the time.”

McCartney was sentenced to life in prison for his crimes. He targeted 3,500 girls, some as young as 10, according to prosecutors.

It was a call from a 13-year-old girl in Scotland in 2019 that led to the capture of the predator. BBC.

Catherine Kierans, of Northern Ireland’s Public Prosecution Service (PPS), urged children or young people to seek help if they are being coerced by someone requesting sexual images or videos.

“This is a crime. You are not guilty. “Please talk to an adult you trust,” he said.

according to AFPKierans asked parents and carers to talk to their children about protecting them online.
“By exposing these issues, we can break the cycle of trust in privacy violators,” he said.

Kierans said McCartney’s depravity was “one of the most distressing and prolific cases of child sexual abuse we have ever seen at PPS”.

Despite extensive police efforts, some victims may never be identified, he said.

With input from agencies