Online predator whose ‘catfish’ abuse drove American father and daughter to take their own lives jailed
An online predator who led an American girl and her father to take their own lives has been jailed for at least 20 years after the UK’s largest “catfishing” case.
Warning: This article contains references to suicide and child sex abuse which readers may find distressing.
Alexander McCartney, 26, previously admitted 185 charges, including the manslaughter of a girl who took her own life.
Police called him a “dangerous, relentless, cruel paedophile” who “may as well have pulled the trigger himself” – and said there were about 3,500 victims.
Devices seized from his bedroom contained hundreds of thousands of indecent photographs and videos of underage girls.
Belfast Crown Court heard they were aged between 10 and 16 and based in the UK, USA, continental Europe, Australia and New Zealand.
McCartney, from south Armagh in Northern Ireland, used Snapchat and other sites to pose as someone else online (known as catfishing).
He pretended to be a young girl to persuade his victims to send him images. He then blackmailed them into sending more explicit material.
Alexander McCartney. Pic: PSNI
Cimarron Thomas, 12, from West Virginia, shot herself with her father’s gun, instead of complying with his demands after he gave her an online countdown. But there were more tragic repercussions.
Unable to live with the loss, her father Ben Thomas, a former US Army veteran, died by suicide 18 months later.
Former computer science student McCartney pleaded guilty to one count of manslaughter, 59 of blackmail, and 70 of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity.
At his sentencing, the judge said his offending began at age 14.
‘Utterly remorseless’
McCartney admitted dozens of charges related to making and distribution of indecent images of children and appeared “utterly remorseless”, said barrister David McDowell KC.
The prosecution said he deliberately targeted victims who were either gay or exploring their sexuality and “degraded and humiliated them”.
The judge called the details “excruciating” and much of what he did is too graphic and disturbing to detail.
McCartney told one girl he would send people to rape her if she didn’t comply. In some instances, he demanded his victims involve younger siblings.
Girl shot herself after McCartney countdown
In May 2018 and posing as ‘Sarah’, he messaged Cimarron Thomas at her family’s farmhouse in the tiny US village of Bruceton and persuaded her to send a topless photograph.
When McCartney revealed he wasn’t Sarah, he demanded more explicit pictures and threatened to send them to her father.
When she pleaded for him to stop, he told her to “dry her eyes” and involve her nine-year-old sister in the sexually explicit material via webcam.
Belfast Crown Court heard a police officer who reviewed the material said Cimarron was “utterly distraught and sobbing”.
The court heard McCartney “counted down” online from 20 to zero – insisting on more pictures.
Cimarron refused and shot herself.
McCartney’s cynical last message read: “Goodbye and good luck.”
Cimarron Thomas. Pic: PSNI
Father couldn’t forgive himself
Cimarron’s younger sister heard what she thought was a balloon popping but found her lying on her parents’ bedroom floor. She died in hospital later that night.
Her father Ben couldn’t forgive himself for leaving his handgun within reach and took his own life 18 months later.
A statement read in court from his wife, Stephanie, said he felt guilty about his daughter’s death and “lost interest in life”.
Cimarron Thomas and her father Ben
Cimarron’s family couldn’t understand why she killed herself until three years later when police found the online chat on McCartney’s computer.
In a statement, Cimarron’s grandparents said: “We all have been devastated by our granddaughter’s passing.
“We know that nothing that we do or say will bring her back. But if we can help another family to not have to go through what we did, something good could come out of her death.
“Parents, please keep the doors of communication open concerning the evil of some people online.”
Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK.
A crew member remains missing after an oil tanker and cargo ship collided in the North Sea off the coast of East Yorkshire.
Dozens of people abandoned the vessels after the crash just before 9.50am, with the Coastguard rescuing 36 people.
All 23 on board the oil tanker Stena Immaculate are accounted for – but one of the 14 crew members of the Solong cargo ship is still missing.
A Coastguard search was called off around 9.40pm, while both vessels were both still on fire.
One of the 36 people rescued was taken to hospital.
Sky News understands there is a five-mile air and sea exclusion zone around the location of the incident, which may be widened to 10 miles if later required.
Read more: What we know about the collision
Both ships are on fire following the collision
The Stena Immaculate was carrying jet fuel and was on a short-term charter to the US Navy at the time of the incident.
The cargo ship was reportedly carrying 15 containers of sodium cyanide and an unknown quantity of alcohol.
Two maritime security sources told Reuters there was “no indication” of any malicious activity or other actors involved in the incident.
Ambulances leaving the scene
‘Multiple explosions onboard’
US logistics group Crowley, which manages oil tanker Stena Immaculate, confirmed the vessel had released some jet fuel after sustaining a ruptured cargo tank.
The firm said it initiated its emergency vessel response plan and is “actively working with public agencies to contain the fire and secure the vessel”.
Crowley added: “Our first priority is the safety of the people and environment. We will provide more updates as information becomes available.”
Read more: Environmental impact of collision depends on at least three things
Pic: Bartek Smialek/PA
Pic: Bartek Smialek/PA
Downing Street ‘monitoring situation’
The prime minister’s official spokesman said it was an “extremely concerning situation”.
He said: “We thank the emergency services for their rapid response. I understand the Department for Transport is working closely with the coastguard to help support the response to the incident.
“We’re obviously monitoring the situation, we’ll continue to coordinate the response and we’re grateful to emergency personnel for their continued efforts.”
Meanwhile, Hull City Council leader Mike Ross has called for the UK government to set out a rapid response plan in response to the events.
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander later praised the work of the emergency services, adding: “The Maritime Accident Investigation Branch has begun a preliminary assessment and I am working closely with the MCA (Maritime and Coastguard Agency) as they conduct an assessment of any counter pollution response which may be required over the coming days.”
Coastguard’s emergency message
Moments after the collision, a message broadcast by the Coastguard warned other ships to stay away from the area.
In audio shared on social media, the Coastguard can be heard warning Solong “has collided” with Stena Immaculate.
“Both vessels are abandoning,” the message continued.
“Vessels who have firefighting equipment or can assist with search and rescue, contact Humber Coastguard.
“Stena is carrying Jet-A1 fuel, which is on fire and in the water. Vessels – remain at safe distance.”
East Midlands Ambulance Service sent an incident response unit
‘Inspectors are gathering evidence’
The Marine Accident Investigation Branch is now investigating the collision.
A spokesperson said: “Our team of inspectors and support staff are gathering evidence and undertaking a preliminary assessment of the accident to determine our next steps.”
The oil tanker was sailing under a US flag, while the Solong cargo ship was Portuguese-flagged, according to Marinetraffic.com.
The Solong had been due to travel to Rotterdam in the Netherlands after departing from Grangemouth in Scotland on Monday morning, Marinetraffic.com shows.
A map from Marinetraffic.com shows the oil tanker (red) and the cargo ship before the crash
Moving images on the tracking site suggest the oil tanker had remained stationary as the Solong headed straight towards it before the collision.
It is believed the Stena Immaculate, which was travelling from Greece to the UK, was anchored at the time.
David McFarlane, director Maritime Risk and Safety Consultants, told Sky News it can take up to an hour to raise an anchor – meaning the tanker might not have had time to get out of the way.
It comes as Martyn Boyers, chief executive of the Port of Grimsby East, said the container ship may have been on autopilot at the time of the crash.
“Autopilot just steers a course, they don’t deviate, there’s no bend in the sea,” he added.
The Portuguese-flagged vessel Solong. File pic: NAC
The US flagged Stena Immaculate. File pic: Kees Torn
Video shows smoke billowing from the ships. Pic: North Yorkshire Weather Updates
Visibility in the area had been poor before the collision this morning, according to the Met Office.
“Areas of fog and low cloud lifting as winds increase through the morning, with some warm, if rather hazy sunny spells expected in places for a time,” it said on Monday morning.
The crash involving a cargo ship and oil tanker off the East Yorkshire coast is bad news for the sea, fish and air in the area. What we don’t know yet is quite how bad it will be.
That depends on a few things – but the speed of the collision, clouds of filthy black smoke from the fires and the leaked fuel are certainly worrying.
Firstly, it matters what was on board those two massive vessels.
Follow live: Jet fuel spilling into sea after tanker collision
Analytics firm Vortexa estimates the 183m-long tanker was carrying about 130,000 barrels of jet fuel (kerosene), which is now leaking into the sea.
Jet fuel is not as sticky or viscous as heavier types of oil, thankfully, so it’s less likely to clog the feathers and fur of birds and seals. It can also be broken down by natural bacteria.
But it can still poison fish and kill animals and plants on the shoreline if it makes its way into the soil there.
The Marine Conservation Society has pointed out the site in the Humber estuary is close to some protected areas and is important for seabirds and harbour porpoises.
And both ships will have been powered by a dirtier, heavier kind of oil – likely marine gas oil or heavy fuel oil, though we don’t know the details yet.
Heavy fuel oil is nasty stuff.
Pic: Bartek Smialek/PA
Cheap, thick and tar-like, it can smother animals and is very dangerous if they consume it, and is extremely difficult to clean up. Let’s hope this isn’t creeping around the North Sea already.
We don’t know how much of either the jet fuel or the oil powering the ships has leaked, or how much will be burned off in the violent fires – which themselves are ploughing black smoke and filthy air pollution into the surrounding atmosphere.
And we don’t know for sure what was on the Solong cargo ship and if, or what, will go into the sea.
Cargo ship ‘had sodium cyanide on board’
It was carrying 15 containers of sodium cyanide among other cargo, according to a report from maritime data provider Lloyd’s List Intelligence.
The container vessel was also transporting an unknown quantity of alcohol, said the casualty report – an assessment of incidents at sea – citing a message from the local coastguard.
Plastic takes hundreds of years to break down, and potentially can choke or trap animals.
Many of us have seen that uncomfortable viral video of a turtle having a straw yanked out of its nose. Previous accidents on cargo ships have seen plastic Lego pieces wash up in Cornwall 25 years later.
Read more:
How UK North Sea platforms dump gas
Secondly, the impact depends on the sea and weather conditions around it.
Things like the wind and currents affect how an oil spill spreads in the sea. Scientists can draw up computer models to simulate how the oil could behave.
Thirdly, it matters how quickly this is all tackled and then cleaned up, if necessary, and if it can be.
Usually the slower the response, the worse the impact.
The coastguard has said the incident “remains ongoing” and it has started assessing the “likely counter pollution response” that will be required.
Such a response might need the help of numerous public bodies: the government environment department, the transport department, the Environment Agency and the Maritime and Coastguard Agency.
So for now the best we can hope for – aside from the welfare of the people involved – is that not all the oil is spilled or burnt, that conditions are calm and that rescuers and those cleaning up can work swiftly.
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