Attacker in ‘Britain’s biggest sleeper case’ jailed for life after 12-year-old girl killed herself – Crime

Warning: This article contains discussion of suicide, which some readers may find upsetting.

A predator who pretended to be a young girl to prey on his victims has been jailed for life with at least 29 years behind bars.

Alexander McCartney, 26, from County Armagh, Northern Irelandadmitted 185 charges involving at least 70 children before his sentencing at Belfast Crown Court today (October 25).

For most of his sentencing, he sat in the dock with his head bowed, conformable The Independent.

He is believed to be one of the most prolific online child abusers worldwide, and investigators believe it may have targeted up to 3,500 children in total.

His victims are from all over the globe, with cases including children Australia, new zealand and the US.

Operating from the bedroom of his childhood home, his method was to pose in front of the girl social media platforms to befriend young girls and then start blackmailing them.

One of his victims was Cimarron Thomas, a 12-year-old girl from the US who, in May 2018, took her own life rather than accede to McCartney’s demands to implicate her younger sister in the abuse. Her father Ben also committed suicide 18 months later.

McCartney pleaded guilty to manslaughter over the 12-year-old girl’s death and also admitted 59 counts of blackmail, along with a number of charges of distributing indecent images and inciting children for sexual activity.

As reported by the BBC, Mr Justice O’Hara told Belfast Crown Court that there are “young girls with younger siblings all over the world whose childhoods have been scarred by this defendant”.

The judge described the 26-year-old’s crimes as acts of “sadism and depravity”, saying he was “relentless” and “ignored multiple opportunities to stop” and “ignored multiple pleas for mercy”.

“In my view, it is truly difficult to think of a sexually deviant who poses a greater risk than this defendant,” Judge O’Hara said.

He also said he did not accept McCartney’s claim that he himself had been fished out before he began offending, saying that even if McCartney had been, it would have had a “minimal” mitigating effect.

The judge told the court that the five years McCartney had already spent in custody would count as part of his sentence, so the earliest he would be eligible for parole is 2039.

Catherine Kierans from the NI Crown Prosecution Service said some of McCartney’s victims could not be identified despite the best efforts of investigators and praised the “courage” of the families affected by his crimes.

She said: “McCartney’s offenses have harmed thousands of children and left them and their families dealing with the traumatic consequences.

“Their courage is in stark contrast to his cowardice in targeting vulnerable young girls.

“I want to recognize their courage, which was an inspiration to everyone who worked on this case.

“The police and prosecution teams, including the senior independent solicitors who assisted in this case, are committed to working together to put an end to the harm McCartney has caused.”

Detective Chief Constable Eamonn Corrigan of the Police Service of Northern Ireland’s Crime Squad called McCartney “nothing but a disgusting child predator” who “posed as young girls online to groom, manipulate and sexually abuse his victims”. .

“As far as I’m concerned, there’s only one place for McCartney and that’s behind bars.” he said.

If you have been affected by any of these issues and want to talk to someone in confidence, please don’t suffer alone. Call the Samaritans for free on their 24-hour anonymous helpline on 116 123.

Featured Image Credit: PSNI / Family Record

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