UK catfisher drives devastated US dad and daughter to kill themselves

Warning: This nonfiction contains details readers whitethorn find distressing. Depraved’ Alexander McCartney, 26, tricked children into believing helium was a young miss earlier luring them into sending him photos

A court has heard how a 12-year-old miss took her ain life alternatively than springiness successful to the sickening blackmail demands of the UK’s astir prolific catfisher.

‘Depraved’ Alexander McCartney, 26, tricked children into believing helium was a young miss utilizing platforms similar snapchat and others, earlier luring them into sending him intimate photos.

He would past uncover the prevarication to his victims, taunting them and threatening to exposure the photos they had sent unless they carried retired ‘degrading and humiliating’ acts for him.

The machine pupil tricked astatine slightest 70 victims successful this way, but helium is suspected of preying connected thousands of girls, immoderate arsenic young arsenic ten, utilizing the machine successful the chamber of his household location successful agrarian Northern Ireland.

Belfast Crown Court heard however 1 victim, 12-year-old Cimarron Thomas from West Virginia successful the United States, took her ain beingness utilizing her father's handgun, alternatively than springiness into McCartney’s demands.

Posing arsenic a miss nether the sanction Sarah 131X McCartney tricked Cimarron into sending him intimate photos and past threatened to stock them with her household unless she complied with his sick demands, authoritative David McDowell, KC, told the court.

The “terrified and distraught” kid begged McCartney to permission her unsocial but helium told her helium would commencement “spreading” the photos unless she gave him what helium wanted. She messaged him saying “I volition sprout myself…”

McCartney callously replied “Goodbye and bully luck.” After the chat ended Cimarron’s younger sister recovered her sibling dormant connected the level of their parent’s chamber with a gunshot coiled to the caput and her father’s handgun nearby, the tribunal heard.

Then, 18 months aft the termination her father, flooded by guilt and grief, took his ain life, Mr McDowell said.

McCartney was aboriginal charged with her manslaughter contempt the brace ne'er having met. He admitted the offence on with a further 184 counts including blackmail, inciting a kid to prosecute successful intersexual enactment and producing and distributing indecent images of children.

The tribunal heard however the “particularly callous” 26-year-old targeted victims aged 10 to 16, immoderate of whom were cheery oregon exploring their sexuality, helium lied astir his property and sex - posing arsenic a chap teen with insecurities astir their assemblage successful bid to instrumentality his victims into sending pictures of themselves. Then helium "degraded and humiliated them," the tribunal was told.

The harm helium caused is "unquantifiable", a barrister said, with overmuch of the item successful the lawsuit excessively graphic and disturbing to study - the justice called it "excruciating” successful a pre-sentence hearing. Some of the acts progressive younger siblings oregon household pets.

In an interaction statement, the grandparents of Cimarron Thomas 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 has been connected remand successful situation since 2019 erstwhile helium was arrested pursuing a constabulary probe sparked aft a miss successful Scotland reported she was the unfortunate of catfishing. He targeted victims successful Britain, Australia, New Zealand and the US.

Mr Justice O'Hara said McCartney volition beryllium sentenced adjacent week.

For confidential enactment telephone the Samaritans connected 116 123 oregon email [email protected] successful the UK.