By David Young, PA
Alexander McCartney’s “relentless” and “disgusting” offending wreaked devastation and stole thousands of childhoods, a senior detective has said.
Detective Chief Superintendent Eamonn Corrigan from the Police Service of Northern Ireland said the offending of the catfish paedophile was on an “industrial scale”.
The PSNI was joined by Northern Ireland’s Public Prosecution Service and the US Department of Homeland Security in welcoming the sentencing of McCartney on Friday.
Mr Corrigan said detectives had been determined to bring McCartney before the courts to answer for his crimes.
“And today we have done just that,” he added.
“McCartney is nothing but a disgusting child predator who was posing as young girls online to groom, manipulate and sexually abuse his victims, as young as four, to satisfy his own sexual perversions and that of other online child sexual offenders.
“We have worked tirelessly around the clock on this case with international criminal justice partners to safeguard victims and build a robust case against this man whose offending has shocked communities around the world.
“Sitting in his childhood bedroom in Newry, he began his offending as a late teenager and built what can only be described as a paedophile enterprise. He had a number of devices and was operating across different time zones.
“He has caused serious and long-lasting harm on what we estimate to be around 3,500 victims and their families. I want to thank those who have come forward today for being so incredibly brave and assisting our investigations.
“As far as I am concerned there is only one place for McCartney and that is behind bars. I am glad his offending has been uncovered and that it has today been taken seriously by our criminal justice system.”
Outside Belfast Crown Court, Mr Corrigan added: “I reflect on the judge’s comments, McCartney is a dangerous, relentless, cruel paedophile.
“There was nothing that was going to stop him, apart from putting him in jail.”
He said detectives had tried to identify as many of the victims as they could.
“Obviously, to charge and identify all those offences would be impractical, so a sample of cases were brought forward,” he said.
The senior detective added: “The scale of his offending, it was just on an industrial scale.
“He would offend right throughout the night. With Homeland Security and other law enforcement agencies, we have strived to identify as many children as possible, but unfortunately, with the passage of time, many young people deleted their accounts to stop the offending, and many young people have moved on.
“But we cannot underestimate the devastation that he has caused and the childhoods he has stolen.”
Mr Corrigan thanked international police colleagues for their efforts to gather evidence against McCartney.
“I want to take this opportunity to thank Homeland Security agents and other police services around the world who worked with us on this complex case,” he said.
“It was a team effort to get to sentencing today.
“It should not be underestimated how difficult this job is – to watch and grade child abuse imagery to bring someone like McCartney to justice and locate and safeguard his victims is no easy feat.
“All of us working on this case have families at home and we wanted to protect these children as if they were our own.
“His offending is devastating and unfortunately we are seeing more of this type of online predatory behaviour from younger offenders than ever before.
“We are working harder than ever to protect children who are being exploited in any way for the sexual gain of adults. If you are downloading, viewing, making, possessing or distributing indecent images of children, we are actively looking for you. Please take that as a serious threat.”
Catherine Kierans, acting head of the Northern Ireland Public Prosecution Service’s Serious Crime Unit, said McCartney’s “depravity” had led to one of the “most distressing and prolific cases of child sexual abuse” the organisation had dealt with.
“The damage McCartney caused to so many young lives is immeasurable,” she said.
Ms Kierans said the victims were “young, innocent children”, some of whom were already struggling with identity and body image issues and had tried to get help on social media.
“He sought to exploit that vulnerability in the most shocking ways,” she added.
“Some children pleaded for him to stop the abuse but he callously continued, at times forcing the victims to involve younger children, some aged just four.
“McCartney had victims in countries across the world. Given the scale and complexity of his offending, the PPS worked closely with the Police Service of Northern Ireland from early in their investigation to advise on lines of inquiry and the evidence needed to build the most effective case.
“Tragically, one of his young victims, who was just 12, had taken her own life during an online chat in which he was threatening her and forcing her to engage in sexual activity.
“The two had never met in person. Working closely with police, the prosecution team was able to establish to the criminal standard that McCartney’s actions had caused the girl’s death and he had a case to answer for manslaughter.
“This new application of the law was rightly tested in court including challenge from the defence. However, after legal argument, the trial judge agreed with the PPS and McCartney eventually pleaded guilty to killing the girl.
“We believe this to be the first time an abuser anywhere in the world has been held accountable for manslaughter where the victim and perpetrator have never met in person.”
Derek W Gordon, the special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) based in Washington DC, said: “Alexander McCartney committed some horrific and disturbing crimes and deserves every minute he serves in prison.
“His wretched conduct tragically led to a child in West Virginia taking her own life.
“We are thankful that our law enforcement partners in Northern Ireland saw fit to apprehend and charge McCartney for his role in the girl’s death. Their investigation and prosecution of this case were nothing short of brilliant.
“HSI Washington DC will continue to work with our law enforcement partners, at home and abroad, to ensure that detestable criminal actors like McCartney answer for their transgressions.”
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