A man who abused up to 3,500 girls online has been convicted of crimes including manslaughter

LONDON (AP) — A “ruthless and cruel” online predator who blackmailed girls around the world was sentenced Friday to at least 20 years in prison after being convicted of the manslaughter of a suicide victim.

Prosecutors say 26-year-old Alexander McCartney, from Newry in Northern Ireland, posed as a teenage girl and carried out catfishing attacks on 3,500 female victims he contacted on platforms such as Snapchat.

Catfishing uses a false online identity to deceive victims. Authorities said McCartney encouraged his victims to send intimate photos or perform sex acts, then blackmailed them by threatening to share the images.

A 12-year-old in West Virginia committed suicide in May 2018 during an online chat with McCartney while demanding sex acts. The victim’s father died by suicide 18 months later.

Prosecutors say this is the first time someone has been convicted of manslaughter in a case where the victim and perpetrator never met.

“Working closely with the police, the prosecution team was able to establish at a criminal level that McCartney’s actions caused the girl’s death and that he should be charged with manslaughter,” said Catherine Kieran, acting head of the Northern Ireland Public Prosecution Service. Crime Unit.

Police have identified victims in 30 countries, including Australia, New Zealand and the United States.

McCartney, who committed his crimes from the bedroom of his family home, pleaded guilty to 185 charges involving 70 children, including the manslaughter charge. Judge John O’Hara sentenced him at Belfast Crown Court to life in prison with no chance of parole for 20 years.

“To my knowledge, there has not been a case like this in which a suspect has used social media on an industrial scale to cause such terrible and catastrophic damage,” the judge said.

Chief Inspector Eamonn Corrigan of the Police Service of Northern Ireland said outside court that McCartney was a “ruthless and cruel” pedophile.

“We cannot underestimate the destruction he has caused and the youth he has stolen,” the officer said. “Nothing could stop him except going to jail.”