British man sentenced in "catfishing" case behind U.S. girl's death

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A Northern Ireland man was sentenced Friday to a minimum of 20 years successful situation aft being recovered blameworthy by a U.K. tribunal successful what has been described arsenic nan biggest criminal "catfishing" case successful nan country. Alex McCartney, 26, had pleaded blameworthy earlier this twelvemonth to a complaint of manslaughter successful a Northern Ireland tribunal aft a young American woman who was among nan thousands of alleged victims he blackmailed online died by suicide.

McCartney had admitted to a full of 185 charges involving 70 kid victims successful tribunal — including blackmail, inciting a kid to prosecute successful intersexual activity and producing and distributing indecent images of children. He was besides held culpable for nan decease of 12-year-old Cimarron Thomas successful West Virginia, according to nan U.K.'s Press Association news agency.

Thomas, who lived successful West Virginia pinch her mother, begetter and siblings, died of termination successful May 2018. During her online interactions pinch McCartney, authorties opportunity he attempted to coerce her into sending schematic images involving a younger sibling.

McCartney was already nether investigation astatine nan time, and was astir to look charges from British investigators erstwhile authorities discovered Cimarron's personality and nan circumstances of her death, CBS News' partner web BBC News reported Friday.

Thomas' father, a U.S. Army veteran, died by termination 18 months aft his daughter, not knowing immoderate of nan circumstances down Cimarron's death.

Jim Gamble, a erstwhile elder British constabulary serviceman specializing successful kid safety, told BBC News that it was a "shocking case."

"The sheer standard of it and nan horrific quality of nan harm inflicted connected these young girls makes it 1 of nan worst I've ever seen," Gamble said, adding: "Don't watch this and deliberation this happens very rarely."

Detective Chief Superintendent Eamonn Corrigan of nan Police Service of Northern Ireland's Crime Operations Department issued a connection Friday, calling McCartney "nothing but a disgusting kid predator who was posing arsenic young girls online to groom, manipulate and sexually maltreatment his victims, arsenic young arsenic four, to fulfill his ain intersexual perversions and that of different online kid intersexual offenders."

McCartney's crimes occurred betwixt 2014 and 2019, erstwhile he's believed by constabulary to person targeted astir 3,500 victims, mostly via Snapchat, each complete nan world, including successful Australia, New Zealand and nan U.S., according to nan Press Association. The lawsuit against him successful nan Belfast Crown Court focused connected 70 kid victims, including Thomas.

There was nary contiguous consequence to Friday's verdict against McCartney from Snapchat. The societal messaging app was accused successful September of having features that make it a favored level of intersexual criminals targeting children, successful a lawsuit filed by New Mexico against its genitor company, Snap Inc.

An undercover investigation by nan authorities recovered Snapchat has crafted "an situation wherever predators tin easy target children done sextortion schemes and different forms of intersexual abuse," Attorney General Raúl Torrez said successful a news release.

In a connection responding to nan New Mexico case, Snap said nan app was designed "as a spot to pass pinch a adjacent circle of friends, pinch built-in information guardrails," and it said location were "deliberate creation choices to make it difficult for strangers to observe minors connected our service."

"We proceed to germinate our information mechanisms and policies, from leveraging precocious exertion to observe and artifact definite activity, to prohibiting friending from suspicious accounts, to moving alongside rule enforcement and authorities agencies, among truthful overmuch more," nan institution said, adding that it continued to activity pinch "industry, government, and rule enforcement to speech accusation and conception stronger defenses."