Inside horrific crimes of 'UK's biggest catfish', 26, who posed as young girl - blackmail to suicide

WARNING: DISTRESSING CONTENT. Alexander McCartney, 26, pretended to beryllium a teenage miss connected Snapchat to befriend much than 70 susceptible youngsters earlier persuading them to nonstop him intersexual pictures

Dozens of young children astir the satellite harrowingly fell unfortunate to the 'world's biggest catfisher'.

Alexander McCartney, 26, has contiguous been jailed for a minimum of 20 years astatine Belfast Crown Court, for posing arsenic a teenage miss successful bid to befriend different girls connected Snapchat and blackmail them. The online predator, from Northern Ireland, threatened youngsters with rape and demanded for a 12-year-old, Cimarron Thomas, to impact her small sister successful enactment acts.

Cimarron, from West Virginia successful the US, sadly took her ain life successful May 2018 alternatively than comply with McCartney's demands, and 18 months later, her heartbroken father, Ben Thomas, besides died by suicide. McCartney pleaded blameworthy to manslaughter relating to Cimarron's decease and admitted 185 charges involving 70 children, though the nonstop fig is believed to beryllium overmuch higher.

McCartney besides admitted 59 counts of blackmail, dozens of charges related to making and distributing indecent photographs and scores of charges of inciting children to prosecute successful intersexual activity. His victims person been identified each implicit the world, including Australia, New Zealand and the US. He acted betwixt a play from 2014 to 2019, contempt being connected bail.

The machine subject pupil utilized his method cognition to transportation retired his harrowing crimes, and offended from the 4 walls of his chamber successful his puerility home. McCartney, primitively from Lissummon Road extracurricular Newry, targeted susceptible girls, aged betwixt 10 and 16, who were cheery oregon exploring their sexuality and preyed connected their insecurities.

He would archetypal unafraid a representation from his victims connected Snapchat, Instagram oregon messenger sites, posing arsenic a "young teenage miss who was struggling with assemblage representation and her sexuality", earlier "revealing his existent intent and threatening them with vulnerability successful bid to unit them to execute intersexual acts connected themselves and their precise young siblings, oregon adjacent connected occassion a dog".

He blackmailed 1 miss and said helium would get radical to spell to her location to rape her if she did not comply with his demands. Prosecuting barrister David McDowell KC told the tribunal McCartney "degraded and humiliated them". He said the chat conversations recovered from his devices "make for the astir disturbing reading".

"They beg him to halt and plead for assurances their images volition not beryllium enactment connected the net oregon sent to friends and household members," helium said. "Many are crying and archer him they are shaking. Some of the victims told him they would termination themselves arsenic they pleaded with him to permission them alone. Others, successful desperation, threatened to harm themselves, immoderate doing truthful connected camera."

When asked by Judge Mr Justice O'Hara if 70 was a minimum number, Mr McDowell told the court: "There are many, galore much victims, successful each likelihood. The sentencing workout is confined to those victims but the suspected fig is much, overmuch higher that that." He said the harm caused to his victims was "unquantifiable".

After McCartney blackmailed 12-year-old Cimarron and threatened to nonstop intersexual images of her to her begetter if she didn't impact her younger sister successful enactment acts, she pleaded with him to stop, and past took her ain life. The barrister said that her begetter "lost involvement successful life" and killed himself 18 months later.

He work retired portion of a unfortunate interaction connection which had been provided by Cimarron's grandparents. It said: "Our lives volition ne'er beryllium the same. We didn't get to spot her graduate, locomotion down the aisle oregon person children. We person been robbed of those memories. Our lives person changed forever."

McCartney was arrested respective times betwixt 2016 and 2019 but continued to offend contempt bail conditions until helium was remanded successful custody successful Maghaberry Prison successful 2019. Mr McDowell said: "Indeed, arsenic clip went on, determination was an escalation successful the seriousness of his behaviour successful the signifier of the depravity of demands helium made of the taxable children."

Mr McDowell said the prosecution did not judge McCartney's assertion that helium had started offending aft becoming a unfortunate of catfishing himself. Defence barrister Greg Berry KC, who represented McCartney, told the tribunal that his lawsuit had pleaded guilty, had shown remorse and had nary erstwhile transgression record.

• You tin study online kid intersexual maltreatment to the Internet Watch Foundation online. If you oregon the idiosyncratic you are helping is successful contiguous danger, telephone 999.