A Northern Irishman has been jailed for life on 185 counts of online sexual harassment and online child extortion linked to so-called catfishing attacks, one of which led to the suicide of A 12-year-old American girl, BTA reported, referring to Reuters.
A Belfast court heard that computer science student Alexander McCartney, 26, targeted his victims through messaging sites and apps including Snapchat and Instagram, tricking them into believing they were talking to a teenage girl of a similar age.
He then had them send him indecent photos or engage in sexual acts captured via webcam or mobile phone, which he then shared online with others and used to threaten and blackmail the children. Sometimes he forced his victims to involve their brothers or sisters in similar acts, and in some cases it was children as young as 3 years old.
One of his victims, a 12-year-old West Virginia girl, took her own life in 2018 with her father’s gun during online communications with McCartney, the court heard. She was found by her nine-year-old sister.
Under Northern Ireland law, McCartney will not be eligible for parole until 2039 at the earliest, Judge John O’Hara told Belfast Crown Court.
McCartney, who pleaded guilty to all charges, sat with his head bowed in the courtroom as the judge described his crimes and stood with his eyes closed when the sentence was handed down. He was taken away in handcuffs, according to Reuters.