On Thursday, October 17, a Northern Irish man pleaded guilty to catfishing more than 70 children globally by posing as a young girl online. He targeted victims “who were gay or exploring their sexuality”, with one child dying by suicide because of the distress he caused.

At a hearing at a Belfast court, Alexander McCartney (26), from County Armagh, pleaded guilty to a total of 185 offences spanning 2013 to 2019. The case was described in court as “the UK’s largest catfishing case”, which sparked a global investigation after police in Scotland received a report of blackmail via Snapchat.

At a pre-sentence hearing, the court heard that the victims were mostly young girls aged 10 to 16 from the UK, US, continental Europe, Australia and New Zealand. Creating fake online profiles pretending to be young teenage girls, McCartney approached his victims through social media like Snapchat, Instagram and Kik.

According to prosecution barrister David McDowell KC, as part of his catfishing, the Northern Irish abuser primarily targeted young girls “who were gay or exploring their sexuality” and persuaded them to send him sexual photos of themselves. Once he had such pictures, he revealed his “true intent” and blackmailed them into sending more graphic material.

One of his victims, a 12-year-old American girl, died by suicide in May 2018 after McCartney threatened to post her images online.

Many of the children targeted were identified after McCartney’s Lissummon Road home in Newry was searched, with police finding thousands of images of young girls “in various states of dress and undress, performing various sexual acts”.

While 70 victims appeared on the court papers, it was likely there were “many many more”, said barrister David McDowell KC. He said that McCartney “degraded and humiliated” his victims and that “the harm he has caused is unquantifiable”.

Citing the Victim Impact Report, McDowell spoke about the flashbacks, depression and stress the victims are experiencing, as well as the shame and embarrassment they were forced to feel. Some of them spoke of their childhoods being stolen by McCartney, while others said they had suicidal thoughts.

McCartney pleaded guilty to one count of manslaughter, 59 of blackmail, and 70 of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity. Moreover, he admitted to dozens of charges related to making and distributing indecent images of children.

At the hearing, Defence barrister Grey Berry told the court that, while he acknowledged that McCartney’s offending was “horrific”, it was shaped by his own experience of “catfishing”. However, no evidence to back this up has been presented to the court.

Justice O’Hara remanded McCartney back into custody and said he would be sentenced next week.

If you have been affected by this story or are looking to reach out to someone for support, advice or just to talk, listed below are numerous services available for LGBTQ+ people, with many offering instant messaging support.
Samaritans
SpunOut.ie
National LGBT+ Helpline
The Switchboard
Dublin Lesbian Line
Belong To
TENI
Pavee Point
Man2Man
HIV Ireland
Aware
Pieta House
Jigsaw
Mental Health Ireland
Garda Confidential Line