A Northern Ireland ‘catfish hunter’ who drove a 12-year-old girl to suicide is to be sentenced

An internet predator from Northern Ireland who drove one of his US catfish victims to suicide is to be sentenced.

Alexander McCartney, 26, pleaded guilty to 185 charges relating to 70 children, although the court had previously been told the actual number of victims was much higher.

McCartney, who posed as a young girl to befriend other girls on Snapchat before blackmailing them, is believed to be Britain’s most common catfish criminal, with victims identified around the world.

Twelve-year-old Cimarron Thomas from West Virginia, USA she took her own life in May 2018, rather than comply with McCartney’s demands that she engage her younger sister in sexual activity.

Eighteen months later, her devastated father Ben Thomas also committed suicide.

McCartney pleaded guilty to manslaughter in connection with Cimarron’s death.

He also pleaded guilty to 59 counts of blackmail, dozens of counts of taking and distributing indecent photos, and dozens of counts of inciting children to engage in sexual activity.

The crimes span the period from 2014 to 2019 and victims have been identified around the world, including in Australia, New Zealand and the US.

McCartney used his technical knowledge acquired as a computer science student to commit his crimes.

He committed the crime in a bedroom in his childhood home.

McCartney, from Lissummon Road near Newry, has been in custody at Maghaberry Prison since 2019.

As a teenager, she posed on the social media platform Snapchat and befriended vulnerable girls aged 10 to 16 who were gay or exploring their sexuality.

Once he obtained photos of his victims, he would reveal the “catfish” and blackmail them into engaging in sexual acts.

In some cases, he required his victims to involve younger siblings.

McCartney told one girl that if she did not comply with his demands, he would get people to go to her house and rape her.

McCartney was arrested several times between 2016 and 2019, but despite his bail conditions, he continued to commit crimes until he was remanded in custody.

Last week, at a pre-sentence hearing, a prosecutor’s attorney said McCartney had degraded and humiliated his victims, saying the harm done to them was “immeasurable.”

The attorney also read excerpts from a victim impact statement that was provided to the court by Cimarron Thomas’ grandparents.

The statement said: “Our lives will never be the same.”

We didn’t see her graduate, walk down the aisle, or have children.

– We were robbed of these memories. Our lives changed forever.

Judge O’Hara sentenced McCartney on Friday at Belfast Crown Court.