How one phone call brought down catfish killer who abused thousands

It was a telephone telephone from a 13-year-old miss successful Scotland successful 2019 that yet led to the seizure of a societal media predator described arsenic 1 of the world's astir prolific kid enactment abusers.

Alexander McCartney from Northern Ireland pretended to beryllium a teenage miss to befriend, past maltreatment and blackmail children astir the world, often sharing images with different paedophiles.

Some of the children were arsenic young arsenic four. Some had ne'er told anyone what they had been done - until constabulary knocked connected their door.

McCartney gradually admitted 185 charges including manslaughter after a 12-year-old miss helium was abusing took her ain life.

He has been jailed for a minimum of 20 years.

Following interaction from constabulary successful Scotland, an urgent probe by the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) swung into cognition successful March 2019.

Detectives identified the location code of Alexander McCartney, arrested and interviewed him.

Sixty-four of McCartney’s devices were seized astatine his location successful the agrarian Lissummon Road country extracurricular Newry successful 4 abstracted raids.

Those devices held hundreds of thousands of indecent photos and videos of underage girls performing intersexual acts whilst being blackmailed.

McCartney made and utilized galore fake accounts connected online platforms, chiefly Snapchat, to entrap and manipulate them.

PSNI Det Ch Supt Eamonn Corrigan said McCartney had been "offending connected an concern scale".

He groomed victims into reasoning they were talking online to a miss of a akin age, earlier encouraging them to nonstop indecent images oregon prosecute successful intersexual enactment via webcam oregon a mobile phone.

McCartney utilized the aforesaid signifier each time, the detective said, adding: "He threatened to stock these images online for the pleasance of different paedophiles and usage them to further maltreatment and harass the already terrified and exploited children."

In 1 incident, it took McCartney conscionable 9 minutes to groom, sexually maltreatment and blackmail a miss of lone 12 years of age.

As clip went on, it became wide that McCartney's depravity spanned not conscionable crossed the UK, but crossed the world. The maltreatment included involving different people, household pets and objects.

The PSNI worked with colleagues successful the United States Department of Homeland Security, the Public Prosecution Service and National Crime Agency, and victims were located successful America, New Zealand and astatine slightest 28 different countries.

Many of these children were lone identified done the grounds detectives located connected McCartney’s devices.

According to the police, helium "built a paedophile enterprise" and had "stolen childhoods" of his victims.

In the outpouring of 2019, constabulary called Catherine Kierans, acting caput of the Public Prosecution Service’s superior transgression unit.

They said thing "big was unfolding... it progressive catfishing".

Catfishing is wherever a idiosyncratic creates a mendacious individuality to summation the spot of radical and exploit them.

Ms Kierans said small girls "an mean property of 10-12 years aged [were] being threatened successful the astir depraved way."

She said immoderate of the children who had been exploited had antecedently opened up astir their abuse, others had remained silent.

“Some of the children had raised the alarm, which helped constabulary to really place him successful the archetypal place.

"But immoderate of the children, until constabulary knocked the door, they had ne'er told anyone what they'd been through.”

According to Ms Kierans, McCartney offended "around the clock".

As the probe dispersed crossed the globe, Ms Kierans said prosecutors realised McCartney had been "very assiduous astir redeeming the images".

"He would besides prevention the representation connected Snapchat of wherever the kid was successful immoderate cases, and that past enabled constabulary to find the children.”

His arraignment successful 2021 was delayed arsenic constabulary discovered the termination of a small miss successful West Virginia, USA.

“From the beginning, the level of maltreatment was truthful horrific that we were fearful that erstwhile these children were identified, would they beryllium okay?” Ms Kierans said.

“Unfortunately, our worst fears were realised erstwhile we discovered, immoderate mode in, that 1 of the small girls had taken her ain life.

“Working intimately with the American authorities, we were capable to beryllium that this kid took her ain beingness during the abuse, erstwhile she was inactive online with McCartney.

"At that point, the decease of the kid was truthful intrinsically linked to the maltreatment that we felt we had a beardown lawsuit to accidental that helium killed her."

That small miss was 12-year-old Cimarron Thomas who, successful 2018, changeable herself portion McCartney was abusing her.

McCartney was charged with her manslaughter.

Ms Kierans said it is believed to beryllium the archetypal clip an abuser anyplace successful the satellite has been held accountable for manslaughter wherever the unfortunate and perpetrator person ne'er met successful person.

Such was the magnitude of the lawsuit that prosecutors had to beryllium judicious with the charges.

“We couldn't enactment 3,000 charges connected the indictment,” Ms Kierans said.

“In the end, determination were astir 200 charges [relating to astir 70 victims] which is astir apt 1 of the largest indictments that we've seen successful Northern Ireland."

McCartney grew up 5 miles extracurricular of Newry and conscionable disconnected the main roadworthy to Armagh city.

It’s astir arsenic agrarian arsenic it gets. Farms, a religion and a fewer businesses.

When helium archetypal appeared astatine Newry Magistrate’s Court successful July 2019 helium was conscionable 21, with long, fuzzy hairsbreadth and the wide-eyed look of idiosyncratic amazed to beryllium sitting wherever helium was.

He has spent much than 5 years connected remand astatine Maghaberry Prison – leaving lone for tribunal appearances and further questioning by the police.

In those hearings, helium said small different than to corroborate his sanction and day of commencement and to gradually participate softly-spoken blameworthy pleas.

McCartney attended Newry High School and was into gaming.

One root told BBC News NI: "He was introverted and socially awkward. He didn’t interact with radical overmuch extracurricular of his radical of friends.

"He was possibly astatine the edges of things, but helium had friends who evidently knew thing astir this."

He past took a people astatine the Southern Regional College successful Newry wherever helium was described arsenic "quiet and didn't truly get progressive with the remainder of the class".

When helium was yet charged successful 2019 helium was a machine subject pupil astatine Ulster University.

For those surviving successful and astir his home, the lawsuit has been harrowing.

“The full spot was stunned,” 1 nonmigratory said.

“It was whispers astatine the start, past disbelief. I’m definite radical speech astir it successful their ain homes but it doesn’t get discussed publically arsenic radical don’t cognize what to say."

Another said: “He came crossed arsenic a pleasant, affable, intelligent young man.

"There is thing bonzer astir him.”

According to Catherine Kierans, McCartney's depravity was specified that it was "one of the astir distressing and prolific cases of kid intersexual maltreatment we person ever seen successful the PPS".

Ms Kierans said immoderate of the victims person inactive ne'er been identified contempt exhaustive efforts by police.

"McCartney's crimes person harmed thousands of children and near them and their families dealing with the traumatic aftermath," she said.

"Their courageousness stands successful stark opposition to his cowardice successful targeting susceptible young girls."