Britain’s ‘most prolific catfish’ Alexander McCartney has been sentenced at a Belfast crown court for the murder of a 12-year-old girl who took her own life.

by Jamie Bullen and paul thompson

Posted Date: October 25, 2024 08:01 EDT | Updated: October 25, 2024 09:24 EDT

advertisement

A British man involved in the world’s biggest catfishing operation is expected to be sentenced today after admitting manslaughter after threatening to kill a 12-year-old girl.

Alexander McCartney, 26, of County Armagh; Northern Irelandused snapchat And another site tricks at least 70 children around the world into sending intimate photos of themselves.

He previously admitted 185 charges, including the murder of Cimarron Thomas, 12, from West. girl nameAmerica committed suicide with his father’s pistol after receiving threats online.

Follow MailOnline’s live coverage of McCartney’s sentencing. belfast Crown Court from 2pm

Judge tells McCartney he had a ‘traumatic childhood’

Judge O’Hara told Belfast Crown Court there were young girls around the world whose childhoods were ‘traumatized’ by McCartney, adding that their parents may not know what happened to them.

‘Decadence and sadism’

The judge said in his opening remarks that details of McCartney’s crimes would not be repeated in court this afternoon, describing his behavior as ‘depraved and sadistic’.

The judge said McCartney accepted his actions were ‘appalling’.

He praised the police for their hard work and acknowledged the harm they had caused them.

Justice O’Hara added that the mitigating factors were ‘small in number and limited in nature’.

McCartney sat with his head bowed and not even looking at the judge as he described how he had threatened hundreds of victims.

Alexander McCartney enters the dock

Alexander McCartney was brought into the courtroom in handcuffs.

Wearing a gray sweatshirt with black sleeves and gray pants, he sat between two prison guards on a glass-fronted dock.

Judge O’Hara began sentencing.

He told the court that Cimarron’s anonymity had been lifted. According to recently introduced laws in Northern Ireland, victims of sexual offenses can: Anonymity was guaranteed for 25 years.

But the judge waived the restrictions after applications were filed by media organizations including MailOnline.

The courtroom was packed as reporters were told to take their seats in the jury box.

Lawyers involved in the case arrived in court. There are only a few people in the public gallery.

There were so many journalists that court officials told them to sit in the jury box.

Hearing scheduled to start in 5 minutes

Alexander McCartney’s sentencing hearing is expected to begin in five minutes.

Join us for live updates from Belfast Crown Court.

Sentencing time set so victims can watch from abroad

The sentencing of Britain’s worst catfish abuser Alexander McCartney was deliberately set for 2pm at Belfast Crown Court so that many of his victims from overseas could watch the proceedings via video link.

The judge, Mr Justice O’Hara, told the defense that many of the young girls who had been blackmailed by the 26-year-old computer student had asked to watch the sentencing in courtroom 13 of modern Langanside Court in Belfast city centre.

McCartney has been imprisoned in Magabury Prison for the past five years after being arrested in 2019 when police seized 60 devices from his Newry home.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security initially requested that McCartney be extradited to the United States after he pleaded guilty to the murder of 12-year-old Cimarron Thomas of West Virginia. This request was withdrawn after the Northern Ireland courts took jurisdiction.

Investigators believe there could be a huge number of victims as police discovered thousands of defaced photos of young girls on his computer. The court heard the investigation identified 70 victims, but police admitted there were many more, with many people too embarrassed to admit they had been catfished.

None of McCartney’s family attended the first day of sentencing, where prosecutor David McDowell spent 90 minutes detailing the ‘unquantifiable’ harm McCartney had caused by catfishing young girls aged between 10 and 16.

Police said the investigation, which began in 2019, was the largest ever carried out in the UK into catfishing – a term used to describe someone who steals someone else’s identity.

Cimarron Thomas’ family have expressed outrage after a father and daughter were killed by a ‘catfish’ abuser.

Cimarron, 12, whose name was revealed for the first time after a court order protecting his identity was lifted earlier this month, committed suicide with his father’s pistol after receiving online threats from computer student Alexander McCartney.

Cimarron’s mother was too traumatized to meet police

The Thomas family initially had no idea why their daughter had taken her life and had no idea what depravity she had suffered.

Eighteen months after losing her daughter, Stephanie Thomas suffered a double tragedy after her husband, Ben, a former U.S. Army veteran, took his own life.

She told investigators she could barely talk about losing her loved one.

One of the family friends said he suffers from PTSD and never talks about the tragic events.

When police in Northern Ireland asked to see her, she was unable to, a family friend said.

‘There were so many that she refused to meet with them. I don’t know if they met afterwards, but I heard it was very shocking to her.’

Grief-stricken father commits suicide

Eighteen months after Cimarron’s death, grieving father Ben (pictured), a former US Army veteran, took his own life, a Belfast court heard.

His brother told MailOnline: “He could have pulled the trigger himself and killed both my nephew and my brother.”

That person tore the family apart. He was charged with murder and spent the rest of his life in prison.

It was very difficult for the whole family to accept what he had done. We’ve all had struggles.

A double tragedy tore the Thomas family, who lived in a small town in West Virginia.

The girl’s grandfather, Dale, set up a memorial bench outside his home in Frostburg, Maryland, in honor of his son and granddaughter.

The insignia of the 10th Mountain Division, the regiment the son belonged to, is engraved, and the phrase ‘Faith had had us through’ is engraved under the granddaughter’s name.

Who was Cimarron Thomas? 12-year-old victim commits suicide

The family of Cimarron Thomas, who committed suicide after receiving threats from McCartney, will also watch the sentencing via video link.

Cimarron, from Bruceton Mills, West Virginia, was tricked by McCartney into contacting her online by posing as a girl named Sarah.

After flattering her with comments about her body and persuading her to send him topless photos, he suddenly revealed his identity and demanded that she comply with his demands for sexually depraved photos.

Cimarron was told that if he did not comply, the photos would be sent to his father.

Prosecutors described in upsetting detail how Cimarron begged McCartney to stop.

Even as she was visibly distressed and crying, he told her to ‘wipe her eyes’ and engage her nine-year-old sister in sexual activity.

Cimarron refused and said she would rather kill herself if McCartney cruelly started counting down and told her ‘goodbye, good luck’.

Her grandfather Dale previously said he was looking forward to closure in the case in which his granddaughter and son died from self-inflicted gunshot wounds.

In a heartbreaking victim impact statement read to the court, he said his family’s life would never be the same.

The 76-year-old said Cimarron’s death deprived her family of ‘seeing her graduation, attending her prom or walking her down the aisle.’

Who is Alexander McCartney, Britain’s most prolific catfish catcher?

Alexander McCartney abused more than 60 young people in a horrific campaign of online child abuse that spanned five years.

The 26-year-old used a fake identity to abuse, exploit and threaten children online. The girls he targeted lived in England, Australia, New Zealand and the United States.

McCartney, who worked from the bedroom of his home in rural Northern Ireland, taunted his victims by saying they had been ‘catfished’ before forcing them to perform ‘humiliating and degrading’ acts.

A major investigation into McCartney began in 2018 after reports of threats on Snapchat were made to Police Scotland.

Investigators searched the pervert’s home and seized his cell phone and computer.

On the device, police found thousands of photographs of young girls ‘in various attires and undresses engaging in various sexual acts’.

McCartney, originally from Lissummon Road, outside Newry, has been detained at Maghaberry Prison since 2019.

good afternoon

Welcome to MailOnline’s live coverage as one of Britain’s most notorious catfish anglers, Alexander McCartney, is sentenced at Belfast Crown Court.

McCartney, 26, pleaded guilty to more than 180 charges, including blackmail and child sexual abuse, after claiming dozens of victims over four years.

He also pleaded guilty to manslaughter after Cimarron Thomas, 12, from West Virginia, shot himself after receiving threats online.

McCartney, from County Armagh, was ensnared after carrying out one of the world’s largest investigations into so-called catfishing after tricking his victims into thinking they were young girls.

We’ll bring you live updates from his sentencing hearing with reporter Paul Thompson at Belfast Crown Court.

The sentencing hearing is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m.

major updates

• Alexander McCartney enters the dock

  View post

• Grief-stricken father commits suicide

  View post

• Who was Cimarron Thomas? 12-year-old victim commits suicide

  View post

• Who is Alexander McCartney, Britain’s most prolific catfish catcher?

  View post

Share or comment on this article: Britain’s ‘most prolific catfish’ Alexander McCartney has been sentenced at Belfast Crown Court for the murder of a 12-year-old girl who took her own life.