An online predator who led an American girl and her father to take their own lives has been jailed for at least 20 years after the UK’s largest “catfishing” case.

Warning: This article contains references to suicide and child sex abuse which readers may find distressing.

Alexander McCartney, 26, previously admitted 185 charges, including the manslaughter of a girl who took her own life.

Police called him a “dangerous, relentless, cruel paedophile” who “may as well have pulled the trigger himself” and said there were about 3,500 victims.

Devices seized from his bedroom contained hundreds of thousands of indecent photographs and videos of underage girls.

Image:
Alexander McCartney. Pic: PSNI

Belfast Crown Court heard victims were aged between 10 and 16 and based in the UK, USA, continental Europe, Australia and New Zealand.

McCartney, from south Armagh in Northern Ireland, used Snapchat and other sites to pose as someone else online, known as catfishing.

He pretended to be a young girl to persuade his victims to send images. He then blackmailed them into sending more explicit material.

Read more:
How parents and teenagers can tackle ‘sextortion’

DO NOT USE UNTIL SENTENCE. Cimarron Thomas. Pic: PSNI
Image:
Cimarron Thomas. Pic: PSNI

Cimarron Thomas, 12, from West Virginia, shot herself with her father’s gun instead of complying with his demands after he gave her an online countdown.

But there were more tragic repercussions.

Unable to live with the loss, her father Ben Thomas, a former US Army veteran, died by suicide 18 months later.

Former computer science student McCartney pleaded guilty to one count of manslaughter, 59 of blackmail, and 70 of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity.

At his sentencing, the judge said his offending began at the age of 14.

‘Utterly remorseless’

McCartney admitted dozens of charges related to making and distribution of indecent images of children and appeared “utterly remorseless”, said barrister David McDowell KC.

The prosecution said he deliberately targeted victims who were either gay or exploring their sexuality and “degraded and humiliated them”.

What is catfishing?

It’s when someone uses photos or personal information, stolen from others or made up, in order to create a fake identity.

They typically use this to trick others into some kind of online relationship.

It’s often associated with dating sites (using a photo of someone more attractive or successful) – but can also be used to pretend to be a business, for example, to con people out of money.

There are also cases of people catfishing to convince others to send explicit images. The targets are sometimes then blackmailed, bullied, or sexually abused.

When someone only fakes fairly insignificant elements of their identity, it’s referred to as ‘kitten fishing’.

Catfishing is not illegal in the UK.

The judge called the details “excruciating” and much of what he did is too graphic and disturbing to detail.

McCartney told one girl he would send people to rape her if she didn’t comply. In some instances, he demanded his victims involve younger siblings, or even family pets and objects.

One girl repeatedly said she would kill herself and that her mother was dying from cancer.

“I do not give a shit about you or your mum,” McCartney replied.

Girl shot herself after McCartney countdown

In May 2018 and posing as ‘Sarah’, he messaged Cimarron Thomas at her family’s farmhouse in the tiny US village of Bruceton and persuaded her to send a topless photograph.

When McCartney revealed he wasn’t Sarah, he demanded more explicit pictures and threatened to send them to her father.

When she pleaded for him to stop, he told her to “dry her eyes” and involve her nine-year-old sister in sexually explicit material via webcam.

Belfast Crown Court heard that a police officer who reviewed the material said Cimarron was “utterly distraught and sobbing”.

Cimarron Thomas and her father Ben Thomas
Image:
Cimarron Thomas and her father Ben

The court also heard McCartney “counted down” online from 20 to zero as he insisted on more pictures.

Cimarron refused and shot herself.

McCartney’s cynical last message read: “Goodbye and good luck.”

Father couldn’t forgive himself

Cimarron’s younger sister heard what she thought was a balloon popping but found her lying on her parents’ bedroom floor. She died in hospital later that night.

Her father Ben couldn’t forgive himself for leaving his handgun within reach and took his own life 18 months later.

A statement read in court from his wife, Stephanie, said he felt guilty about his daughter’s death and “lost interest in life”.

Cimarron’s family couldn’t understand why she killed herself until three years later when police found the online chat on McCartney’s computer.

Read more from Sky News:
Nazi-obsessed man guilty of trying to kill asylum seeker
Catfish victim on taking her pain to the screen

In a statement, Cimarron’s grandparents said: “We all have been devastated by our granddaughter’s passing.

“We know that nothing that we do or say will bring her back. But if we can help another family to not have to go through what we did, something good could come out of her death.

“Parents, please keep the doors of communication open concerning the evil of some people online.”

Detective Chief Superintendent Eamonn Corrigan, from the Police Service of Northern Ireland, said McCartney’s sentence was a “warning to those operating online and hiding behind fake accounts and firewalls – you will be caught and you will face the full force of the law when you are”.

Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK.