A horrific online predator has been jailed for life after driving one of his catfish victims to take her own life.
Alexander McCartney, 26, from County Armagh in Northern Ireland, was given a life sentence with a minimum of 20 years in jail for extensive online child abuse and the manslaughter of a 12-year-old American girl.
McCartney admitted to 185 charges, including more than 50 counts of blackmail.
The 26-year-old, who was described as "the UK's largest catfishing case", preyed on children across the world aged between 10 and 16 between 2013 and 2019.
Alexander McCartney
Justice O'Hara ruled that McCartney would not be considered for release before 2039, taking into account the five years he has already served in custody since 2019.
The scale of his offences shocked authorities, with police believing as many as 3,500 children were targeted by McCartney on 64 devices.
McCartney used false identities online to befriend and exploit victims, primarily using Snapchat.
The 26-year-old occasionally used other platforms, including Instagram and Kik.
Posing as a young girl, McCartney lured victims into sending intimate photos. He often used pictures obtained from other young girls to deceive new targets.
McCartney would then blackmail the children into sending more extreme photographs, threatening to expose them to friends and family if they refused.
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Cimarron Thomas took her own life after being abused by the predator online
CIMARRON AND BENJAMIN THOMAS MEMORIAL PAGE
McCartney's also put pressure on his victims to involve younger siblings, family pets, and objects.
The 26-year-old's relentless approach included using a template of messages to copy and paste to his victims.
He kept meticulous records, including screenshots of victims' Snapchat location pins to track their whereabouts.
In some cases, McCartney would go on to share images with other prolific paedophiles.
The court also heard that the harm caused was "unquantifiable" after McCartney "degraded and humiliated" victims for his own sexual gratification.
Alexander McCartney, 26, from County Armagh in Northern Ireland, was given a life sentence with a minimum of 20 years in jail
PSNI
The judge stated that McCartney's actions had "changed forever" the lives of his victims.
Cimarron Thomas, 12, from West Virginia in the United States, shot herself with her father's handgun in 2018.
The young girl's father, US army veteran Ben, killed himself just 18 months later.
Other children pleaded with McCartney after sending a photograph of a "self-inflicted cut".
The 26-year-old callously replied: "I don't give a s**t."
Responding to another child who feared they were about to die, McCartney wrote: "I don't care."
McCartney would primarily use Snapchat to prey on his victims
GETTY
A Snapchat spokesperson expressed sympathy for the victims and outlined the platform's protective measures.
These include removing violating content, locking offending accounts, and reporting cases to authorities.
Snapchat has implemented additional safeguards for teenagers, making it harder for strangers to contact them.
The platform has also expanded in-app notifications to encourage teens to communicate with trusted individuals.
Parents can monitor their children's Snapchat activities through the Family Centre feature, which allows them to see their teens' contacts and friends list.
These measures aim to prevent future cases of online exploitation and protect vulnerable users.
