‘Catfish’ admits manslaughter of girl, 12, after he blackmailed her online

Alexander McCartney pleaded guilty to 185 offences after police discovered thousands of images of young girls on his devices

A British man at the centre of one of the world’s largest catfishing investigations has admitted to the unlawful killing of a 12-year-old girl whom he had blackmailed.
Alexander McCartney, 26, appeared at Belfast Crown Court on Monday where he pleaded guilty to manslaughter and a separate charge of blackmail.
He had been arrested and charged after the girl took her own life on May 11 2018.
The 12-year-old victim, who is not from the UK, cannot be named for legal reasons.
McCartney had blackmailed the young girl over four days in May 2018. He was charged with manslaughter in 2022.
When devices seized from his home were examined, police discovered thousands of images of young girls in “various states of dress and undress, performing various sexual acts”.
It can now be reported that McCartney, from County Armagh, has pleaded guilty to 185 offences, mostly relating to child sex abuse, spanning a six-year period.
Police have investigated him in relation to more than 60 catfishing incidents with victims identified in the US and New Zealand, many of which were believed to be through Snapchat.
Catfishing involves using a fake online identity to target potential victims, which can then lead to blackmail and sexual exploitation.
The Irish News reported that two years before he made contact with the 12-year-old, another girl had pleaded with him to leave her alone.
In messages read out at a previous court hearing, the other victim said: “Please just leave me alone”, “You said you deleted those pics”, “I hate doing this”, “Why are you doing this to me?”, “You are hurting me” and “Why, so you can torment me?”.
Jim Gamble, the former head of the Child Exploitation and Online Protection centre, said that “too many people tell children what goes online stays online”. 
He added: “The key is, the sooner you talk to a trusted adult, the sooner something positive can be done and I’m telling you from years of experience in this field, things can be done.”
Joanne Barnes, from Nexus, which provides support to victims of domestic and sexual abuse, urged catfishing victims to speak out against their abuse. “Abuse thrives on silence and that’s what perpetrators thrive on,” she said.
McCartney previously admitted charges including about 50 offences of blackmail and multiple counts of possessing indecent images of children.
These were subject to reporting restrictions that were lifted by Mr Justice O’Hara on Monday.
McCartney was arrested in 2018 after a complaint received by Police Scotland led to a search of his home in Newry and the seizure of his mobile phone.
He has been in police custody since July 2019 and currently resides at Maghaberry prison.
Mr Justice O’Hara said he is likely to sentence McCartney in May after requesting a comprehensive list of his offending and victims.
Greg Berry KC, representing McCartney, said he will provide the judge with pre-sentence reports no later than May 16.
A Snapchat spokesman said: “This is horrific and our hearts go out to the victims in this case.
“We work in multiple ways to prevent this type of abuse, including proactive detection technology, confidential in-app reporting tools and by working with the police to support investigations. We also have extra protections in place for under 18s, including a pop-up warning if they are contacted by someone they don’t know, and our Family Centre which allows parents to see who their teens are talking to.”