Alexander McCartney: Sick Snapchat predator who drove 12-year-old victim to kill herself handed life sentence

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An internet predator who drove one of his young catfish victims to take her own life at only 12 years old has been jailed.

Alexander McCartney, 26, admitted to 26 charges involving 70 children and was handed a life sentence with a minimum of 20 years by Mr Justice O’Hara at Belfast Crown Court. The abuser, originally from Lissummon Road outside Newry, Northern Ireland, would disguise himself as a teenage girl, befriending young girls across the world through Snapchat before blackmailing them.

One of his victims, Cimarron Thomas, 12, from West Virginia, took her own life in May 2018 after McCartney demanded her to get her younger sister involved in sex acts. Cimarron’s father, Ben Thomas, also took his own life 18 months after his daughter's death.

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While the charges against McCartney related to 70 victims, it is believed that the sick predator abused around 3,500 children. He previously pleaded guilty to manslaughter relating to Cimarron’s death.

He also admitted almost 60 counts of blackmail, dozens of charges related to making and distributing indecent photographs and scores of charges of inciting children to engage in sexual activity. The court heard that he used his technical knowledge as a computer science student to carry out his crimes from his childhood bedroom.

Mr Justice O’Hara told McCartney: “The prosecution has described the harm caused by the defendant as unquantifiable. I accept that description, subject to the proviso that the harm is inevitably and indisputably huge.

Cafish abuser Alexander McCartney, who drove one of his victims to take her own life, has been jailed for at least 20 years.Cafish abuser Alexander McCartney, who drove one of his victims to take her own life, has been jailed for at least 20 years.
Cafish abuser Alexander McCartney, who drove one of his victims to take her own life, has been jailed for at least 20 years. | PSNI

“There were young girls, with younger siblings, all over the world, whose childhoods have been scarred by this defendant. In many cases that fact may not be known to their adult carers.”

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In relation to McCartney’s claims that he had began offending after being a victim of catfishing himself in his teenage years, the judge said: “In my judgment the evidence points significantly but not necessarily conclusively in the direction of something not having happened to him.

“It is, therefore, my conclusion that the defendant has not proved on the balance of probabilities that he himself was the victim of catfishing when he was 14 or 15. Even if I am wrong in that, however, I find that in the circumstances of this case any mitigation would be minimal.

“The fact is that even in his own case, the sadism that he showed to others far exceeds any specific or identified abuse alleged to have been inflicted on him. Lest it be forgotten, he kept offending in an even more sinister, dramatic and appalling manner even after his first arrest, and his second arrest, and his third arrest.”

Mr Justice O’Hara added: “The defendant was remorseless. He ignored multiple opportunities to stop. He ignored multiple pleas for mercy. He lied and lied and then lied again. In my judgment it is truly difficult to think of a sexual deviant who poses a greater risk than this defendant.”

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Catherine Kierans, from the NI Public Prosecution Service, said: “McCartney’s crimes have harmed thousands of children and left them and their families dealing with the traumatic aftermath. Their courage stands in stark contrast to his cowardice in targeting vulnerable young girls.

“I want to recognise their bravery, which has been an inspiration to everyone who worked on this case. The police and prosecution teams, including the senior independent barristers who assisted with this case, were dedicated to working together to end the harm McCartney was causing.”

Detective Chief Superintendent Eamonn Corrigan, of PSNI, said: “McCartney is nothing but a disgusting child predator who was posing as young girls online to groom, manipulate and sexually abuse his victims, as young as four, to satisfy his own sexual perversions and that of other online child sexual offenders. We have worked tirelessly around the clock on this case, with international criminal justice partners to safeguard victims and build a robust case against this man whose offending has shocked communities around the world.”

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