Man sentenced to life in prison after ‘catfishing’ at least 70 minors and pushing a 12-year-old to kill himself

CNN
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A man in Northern Ireland has been sentenced to life in prison for several crimes, including manslaughter, after he used social media sites to blackmail and sexually abuse at least 70 minors in several countries.

Alexander McCartney, 26, was convicted by a Belfast Crown Court judge on Friday of child sex crimes, blackmail and the manslaughter of a 12-year-old girl who killed herself in the United States in 2018 after being ‘catfished’. This is evident from a statement from the Northern Ireland Public Prosecution Service (PPS).

Catfishing – often used on social media – is when a person uses false information and images to create a false identity online with the intent to mislead, harass or defraud another person.

Authorities say McCartney posed as a young girl, befriended victims on social media and manipulated them into sending him nude photos of themselves.

The victims were then threatened “to send him indecent images and videos of themselves, forcing them to participate in depraved and sometimes dangerous sexual acts,” the statement said.

McCartney – who targeted around 3,500 girls from Northern Ireland, Ireland, Britain, the US and New Zealand – tried to “exploit that vulnerability in the most shocking ways”, said Catherine Kierans, acting head of the PPS Serious Crime Unit.

“All of McCartney’s victims were young, innocent children” as young as 10 years old and “struggling with identity and body image issues and had sought help on social media,” Kierans said.

In total, McCartney pleaded guilty to 185 charges involving 70 victims. McCartney must serve a minimum of 20 years in prison before he can be eligible for parole.

“Tragically, one of his young victims, who was only 12, had committed suicide during an online chat in which he threatened her and forced her to participate in sexual activities,” Kierans noted. She said the girl, an American, and McCartney never met in person.

CNN affiliate Virgin Media News reported that McCartney mainly used the popular social media app Snapchat to target his victims.

In a statement shared with CNN, Snapchat said that “the sexual exploitation of anyone is heinous and illegal, and our hearts go out to the victims in this case.”

“If we discover this activity, or if it is reported to us, we will delete it, lock the offending account, and report it to authorities,” the social media site said. It added that the app “provides additional protection for teens to make it difficult for them to be contacted by strangers.”

According to the statement, PPS is working to identify more of McCartney’s victims.