Catfishing: McCartney investigation delayed by ‘under-resourcing’

An investigation into prolific online sex abuser Alexander McCartney was delayed by “under-resourcing”, a report by the Police Ombudsman of Northern Ireland (PONI) has found.

It also said the management of his bail conditions was “ineffective”.

McCartney, 27, was given a life sentence last year, with a minimum of 20 years in jail, for the online abuse of children and the manslaughter of a 12-year-old girl.

PONI found the ability of police to “keep children safe” had been “significantly compromised”.

McCartney, from outside Newry, is recognised as one of the world’s most prolific online child abusers.

Although he admitted 185 charges, it is believed he created fake personas to target as many as 3,500 victims, aged 10 to 16, from more than 30 countries.

A 12-year-old girl from the United States, Cimarron Thomas, took her own life in 2018 while he was abusing her.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) asked PONI to conduct an independent review of its handling of the McCartney case, with the results published on Monday.

PONI chief executive Hugh Hume said the PSNI’s cybercrime teams did not have “the capacity or capability” to manage the risk McCartney posed.

He said it was “clear” they were “under-resourced and under pressure”.

McCartney was first arrested in 2016, when he was 17, after indecent images of children were found on his mobile phone, a tablet and five computers.

He was released on bail and a delay in producing evidential reports about some 1,100 indecent images meant he was not interviewed again until two years later.

During this period, McCartney had been involved in abusive online communications involving Cimarron and at least seven other children.

Cimarron died five days before McCartney’s second interview.

Mr Hume said the delays in police inquiries were due to insufficient resourcing “amidst a growing backlog of devices requiring examination in connection with online child abuse”.

He added: “When the initial devices were seized from McCartney in 2016, the officer responsible for investigating his online offending was part of a team that, due to absences and other factors, had only five officers in post against the compliment of 14 it was supposed to have.

“This resulted in delays in the investigation and potential prosecution of those whose activities pose such a risk to children and young people,” Mr Hume stated.

“Opportunities to proactively follow evidence to identify where indecent images of children were being shared were missed.”

PONI found “significant pressures” amongst all PSNI teams responsible for investigating online offending involving children and indecent images.

In 2018, the PSNI Cybercrime Centre, with 60 staff, had 935 computers and 284 mobile phones to examine.

The centre prioritised terrorism and serious crime offences, “negatively and disproportionately impacting on the examination of devices submitted by the child internet protection team”.

Mr Hume said the targeting of women and girls in the digital space “should carry equal weight in terms of prioritisation”.

The PONI investigation also found there were “insufficient” resources to manage McCartney’s bail conditions.

The conditions included living at an approved address and not having contact with children under 16 unless supervised.

The PONI report stated there was “a culture” where officers imposed “superficial, ineffective and unsupervised bail conditions upon suspects and offenders”.

Mr Hume said McCartney’s “continued offending went completely unchecked”.

Staff in the “overstretched” child internet protection team were “unable to adequately impose or manage meaningful bail conditions, such as restrictions around internet usage”.

He added: “It is clear that the bail conditions imposed on him failed to manage the risks he posed.

“Indeed, this was symptomatic of the wider situation across Northern Ireland, as other suspected offenders were subject to similar conditions, also without any checks to ensure compliance.”

It was not until McCartney’s third arrest in 2019 that a bail condition restricting his access to the internet was imposed.

“It is my hope that the learning from our investigation and other similar enquiries will help ensure that the PSNI addresses the identified failings, leading to swift and proactive enquiries and effective bail management to provide children and young people with the protection they require,” said Mr Hume.

Warning: Distressing details of extreme child abuse and strong language are mentioned in the section below.

Alexander McCartney’s litany of crimes between 2013 and 2019 has been described as “the UK’s largest catfishing case”.

Catfishing involves the use of a false identity online to befriend and exploit victims.

The catfish is the person who has created the fake persona.

They target people through social media and messaging apps, usually for abuse and fraud.

From behind a computer screen at his home in Northern Ireland, McCartney brought fear and devastation to the lives of thousands of children across the world.

He approached the vast majority of his victims on Snapchat, although on a small number of occasions he used other social media sites including Instagram and Kik.

On his 64 devices, he pretended to be a young girl to lure his victims into sending intimate photos.

Sometimes he used pictures he had obtained from other young girls and pretended to be them when speaking to new victims.

Once he had the photos he would blackmail them for more extreme photographs.

If they did not send them he said he would expose them to their friends and family.

He forced the children to involve their younger siblings in the abuse, which also included family pets and objects.

During the investigation, prosecutors discovered one case that had led to tragic consequences.

In 2018, he messaged 12-year-old Cimarron Thomas in West Virginia, USA. After complimenting her and getting a picture, he began his campaign of abuse.

He demanded more pictures of her and threatened to put her pictures online and expose her if she did not do what he said.

Scared, she did not tell anyone what was happening to her.

McCartney kept pursuing her and coming back for more photos and told her she had to include her little sister.

She refused to do so and said she would kill herself. He put up a countdown clock.

Cimarron shot herself in the head with her family’s legally held firearm, while she was still online with McCartney.

Her younger sister found her.

Tragically, 18 months later, Cimarron’s father Ben took his own life. When he died he did not know the reason why Cimarron had taken hers.

McCartney pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of Cimarron Thomas.

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