Perpetrator of ‘Britain’s biggest catfish case’ sentenced to life in prison after 12-year-old girl’s suicide – Crime

Warning: This article contains discussion of suicide that some readers may find disturbing.

A predator who pretended to be a young girl to catch catfish for his victims was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of spending at least 29 years behind bars.

Alexander McCartney, 26, from Co. Armagh, Northern Irelandpleaded guilty to 185 charges relating to at least 70 children before his sentencing at Belfast Crown Court today (October 25).

He sat in the dock with his head bowed for most of the sentence, According to Independent.

He is considered one of the most prolific on the Internet perpetrators of violence against children in the world, and investigators believe that in total he may have targeted up to 3,500 children.

His victims come from all over the world, including children Australia, New Zealand and US.

Operating from a bedroom in the house where he spent his childhood, he used the method of pretending to be a girl social media platform to befriend young girls and then began blackmailing them.

One of his victims was Cimarron Thomas, a 12-year-old girl from the US, who took her own life in May 2018 rather than comply with McCartney’s demands to implicate her younger sister in the molestation. Her father Ben also died by suicide 18 months later.

McCartney pleaded guilty to manslaughter in connection with the death of a 12-year-old girl, and also pleaded guilty to 59 counts of blackmail and a number of charges of distributing indecent images and inciting children to engage in sexual activity.

As stated via the BBC, Judge O’Hara told Belfast Crown Court that “there are young girls all over the world with younger siblings whose childhoods have been marked by this defendant.”

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

“In my opinion, it is truly difficult to imagine a sexual deviant who poses a greater risk than this defendant,” Judge O’Hara said.

He also said he did not accept McCartney’s claim that he himself was deceived before he began the insults, arguing that even if McCartney had done so, it would have had a “minimal” mitigating effect.

The judge told the court that the five years McCartney had already spent in custody would count towards his sentence, so the earliest he would be eligible for parole would be 2039.

Catherine Kierans of the Illinois State Attorney’s Office said that despite investigators’ efforts, they had failed to identify some of McCartney’s victims, and praised the “courage” of the families affected by his crimes.

She said: “McCartney’s crimes harmed thousands of children and left them and their families facing traumatic consequences.

“Their courage contrasts sharply with his cowardice in attacking defenseless young girls.

“I want to recognize their courage, which was an inspiration to everyone who worked on this case.

“The police and prosecution teams, including the senior independent lawyers who assisted in this case, have worked diligently to bring an end to the harm caused by McCartney.”

Detective Chief Inspector Eamonn Corrigan, of the Northern Ireland Police Criminal Operations Unit, called McCartney “nothing but a disgusting child predator” who “posed as young girls online in order to seduce, manipulate and sexually abuse his victims.”

“As far as I’m concerned, there’s only one place for McCartney and that’s behind bars.” He he said.

If you have been affected by any of these problems and want to talk to someone in confidence, don’t torture yourself. Call Samaritans free of charge on their anonymous 24-hour hotline on 116 123.

Featured photo: PSNI / Family leaflet

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