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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.

DO NOT USE UNTIL SENTENCE. Alexander McCartney. Pic: PSNI
Image:
Alexander McCartney. Pic: PSNI

Belfast Crown Court heard victims 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 images. He then blackmailed them into sending more explicit material.

Read more:
How parents and teenagers can tackle ‘sextortion’

DO NOT USE UNTIL SENTENCE. Cimarron Thomas. Pic: PSNI
Image:
Cimarron Thomas. 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 the age of 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”.

What is catfishing?

It’s when someone uses photos or personal information, stolen from others or made up, in order to create a fake identity.

They typically use this to trick others into some kind of online relationship.

It’s often associated with dating sites (using a photo of someone more attractive or successful) – but can also be used to pretend to be a business, for example, to con people out of money.

There are also cases of people catfishing to convince others to send explicit images. The targets are sometimes then blackmailed, bullied, or sexually abused.

When someone only fakes fairly insignificant elements of their identity, it’s referred to as ‘kitten fishing’.

Catfishing is not illegal in the UK.

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, or even family pets and objects.

One girl repeatedly said she would kill herself and that her mother was dying from cancer.

“I do not give a shit about you or your mum,” McCartney replied.

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 sexually explicit material via webcam.

Belfast Crown Court heard that a police officer who reviewed the material said Cimarron was “utterly distraught and sobbing”.

Cimarron Thomas and her father Ben Thomas
Image:
Cimarron Thomas and her father Ben

The court also heard McCartney “counted down” online from 20 to zero as he insisted on more pictures.

Cimarron refused and shot herself.

McCartney’s cynical last message read: “Goodbye and good luck.”

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’s family couldn’t understand why she killed herself until three years later when police found the online chat on McCartney’s computer.

Read more from Sky News:
Nazi-obsessed man guilty of trying to kill asylum seeker
Catfish victim on taking her pain to the screen

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.”

Detective Chief Superintendent Eamonn Corrigan, from the Police Service of Northern Ireland, said McCartney’s sentence was a “warning to those operating online and hiding behind fake accounts and firewalls – you will be caught and you will face the full force of the law when you are”.

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.

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Lack of heavy rescue equipment into Gaza leaves hundreds to die slow deaths under rubble

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Lack of heavy rescue equipment into Gaza leaves hundreds to die slow deaths under rubble

It was in the evening that the bombing started to intensify.

Salah Jundia, his father and brothers huddled together in their home in Shujaiyya, just east of Gaza City, trying to work out what to do.

It was too risky for them to leave at night. There were a lot of them too. Extended family living across four storeys. They decided they would wait until after dawn prayers.

The explosion tore through the building just before 5am, collapsing one storey on to the next.

The remains of where the family lived - where loved ones were trapped beneath the rubble
Image:
The aftermath of Israel’s bombing campaign in Shujaiyya, just east of Gaza City

Salah Jundia
Image:
Salah Jundia

Jundia says he survived because pieces of bedroom furniture fell on top of him.

Then he looked for his father and brothers.

“I found one of them calling for help. I removed the rubble covering him with my hands. Then I saw another brother covered in rubble but he was dead,” he told Sky News.

Jundia added: “My father was also dead. My other brother was also dead. We got them out and that is when I saw that the whole building had collapsed.”

Over the next few hours, they scrambled to rescue who they could.

An aunt and uncle and one of their children, Shaimaa. Uncle Imad and his son Mohammad. The bodies of Montasir and Mustaf.

One of the child victims of the attack on the home in Gaza City
Image:
One of the child victims of the attack on the home near the Gaza City

One of the child victims of the attack
Image:
Another one of child victims of the attack

Jundia says he could hear cries for help, but they were coming from deep in the rubble and were impossible to reach.

The rescue teams on site – civil defence they are called – did not have the kit to clear through three floors of 500 square metres, 30cm slabs of concrete.

Palestinians drilling to try and reach the people trapped below the rubble
Image:
Rescuers drilling to try and reach the people trapped below the rubble

Efforts to free those trapped beneath the rubble in Gaza City
Image:
Efforts to free those trapped beneath the rubble near the Gaza City

In the afternoon, Jundia says Israel’s Defence Forces (IDF) told rescue teams to leave as they would be resuming their bombardment.

Jundia buried the bodies he had managed to pull out but he knew 15 of his family members, 12 of them children, were still somewhere inside the rubble, still crying for help.

He made a desperate video appeal, begging the Red Cross and Arab countries to pressure Israel to grant access to the site. It was picked up on a few social media accounts.

Israel won’t allow heavy equipment into Gaza. No diggers or bulldozers, nor the fuel or generators to run them.

They say it will fall into Hamas’s hands.

It was a major sticking point during the ceasefire and it is a major issue now as the bombardment continues, given the fact that hundreds if not thousands of civilians might survive if there were the equipment to extract them.

Members of Salah Jundia's family left alive after the attack
Image:
Members of Salah Jundia’s family left alive after the attack

Salah Jundia and his family
Image:
Salah Jundia and his surviving family

Civil defence trying to get to the Jundia family home over the next few days were halted because the IDF were in the vicinity. A family friend tried himself and was killed.

The footage that our camera teams have shot in Shujaiyya over the past two weeks shows how civil defence teams struggle to save those who are trapped and injured with the most rudimentary of equipment – plastering trowels, sledgehammers, ropes and small drills.

“The tight siege stops civil defence equipment from getting in,” says one.

They added: “So we are taking much longer to respond to these events. Time is a factor in getting these people out. So we call immediately for the necessary equipment to be allowed in for the civil defence to use.”

The IDF say they are investigating the circumstances around the Jundia family as a result of our enquiries.

In relation to the access of heavy equipment into Gaza, they say they work closely with international aid organisations to enable the delivery of humanitarian activities in accordance with international law.

The last contact Jundia had from beneath the rubble was a phone call from his uncle Ziad, three days after the strike.

“The line was open for 25 seconds then it went dead. We don’t know what happened. We tried to call, but there was no answer,” he says.

He and his family were displaced several times before they returned home to Shujaiyya – to Rafah in the south, then Khan Younis and Deir al-Balah.

Along the way, Jundia lost one brother and a nephew to Israeli bombs.

Read more:
Israeli air strike hits Gaza hospital
Red dye dumped into US embassy in Israel protest
Israel shot at ambulances over ‘perceived threat’

“We were happy and all the family came back. We went back to our house. It was damaged, but we improvised and we lived in it. We have nothing to do with the resistance. We are not interested in wars. But we have been gravely harmed,” he says.

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China’s economy surges, but tariffs effect is yet to be seen

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China's economy surges, but tariffs effect is yet to be seen

China’s economy performed better than expected in the first quarter of the year – but it reflects a moment in time before the explosive trade war with the US, which has seen the world’s two biggest economies effectively decouple.

Economists had predicted that gross domestic product would grow by about 5.1% in January to March, compared with a year earlier. In the end, it grew 5.4%.

But these impressive figures obscure the very serious challenges China’s economy is facing in the wake of Donald Tump’s trade war – and it is almost certain growth will not remain this strong as the year goes on.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Bobble-headed Trump explains China-US tariffs

The worst of Trump’s tariffs came into force in April, meaning they were not reflected in these figures.

In Q1, China faced an initial 10% tariff on all its exports to the US – which was then raised to 20% from 10 March.

But Beijing had planned and prepared for taxes at that level, and thus the impact was pretty minimal.

Growth was also propelled by the fact that exporters rushed to deliver orders in bulk before the tariffs came into force.

More on China

In fact, exports surged a remarkable 12% in March compared to a year earlier, a rate that will not be sustained.

Read more from Sky News:
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The art of doing a deal with Trump
US and UK ‘working hard’ on agreement

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Trump Tariffs: How the 10 days unfolded

Current tariffs on goods sold from China to America stand at 145%. Trade at that price is all but impossible.

Given exports account for a fifth of China’s economy, and consumer confidence domestically is still sluggish, there will be a significant hit to come.

Experts agree China will most likely miss its annual growth target of 5% – the question is by how much.

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Palestinian man forced to abandon loved ones trapped beneath rubble after IDF warning

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Lack of heavy rescue equipment into Gaza leaves hundreds to die slow deaths under rubble

It was in the evening that the bombing started to intensify.

Salah Jundia, his father and brothers huddled together in their home in Shujaiyya, just east of Gaza City, trying to work out what to do.

It was too risky for them to leave at night. There were a lot of them too. Extended family living across four storeys. They decided they would wait until after dawn prayers.

The explosion tore through the building just before 5am, collapsing one storey on to the next.

The remains of where the family lived - where loved ones were trapped beneath the rubble
Image:
The remains of Salah Jundia’s home in Shujaiyya, just east of Gaza City

Salah Jundia
Image:
Salah Jundia

Jundia says he survived because pieces of bedroom furniture fell on top of him.

Then he looked for his father and brothers.

“I found one of them calling for help. I removed the rubble covering him with my hands. Then I saw another brother covered in rubble but he was dead,” he told Sky News.

Jundia added: “My father was also dead. My other brother was also dead. We got them out and that is when I saw that the whole building had collapsed.”

Over the next few hours, they scrambled to rescue who they could.

One of the child victims of the attack on the home in Gaza City
Image:
One of the child victims of the attack on the home near the Gaza City

One of the child victims of the attack
Image:
Another one of child victims of the attack

An aunt and uncle and one of their children, Shaimaa. Uncle Imad and his son Mohammad. The bodies of Montasir and Mustaf.

Jundia says he could hear cries for help, but they were coming from deep in the rubble and were impossible to reach.

The rescue teams on site – civil defence they are called – did not have the kit to clear through three floors of 500 square metres, 30cm slabs of concrete.

Palestinians drilling to try and reach the people trapped below the rubble
Image:
Rescuers drilling to try and reach the people trapped below the rubble

Efforts to free those trapped beneath the rubble in Gaza City
Image:
Efforts to free those trapped beneath the rubble near the Gaza City

In the afternoon, Jundia says Israel’s Defence Forces (IDF) told rescue teams to leave as they would be resuming their bombardment.

Jundia buried the bodies he had managed to pull out but he knew 15 of his family members, 12 of them children, were still somewhere inside the rubble, still crying for help.

He made a desperate video appeal, begging the Red Cross and Arab countries to pressure Israel to grant access to the site. It was picked up on a few social media accounts.

Israel won’t allow heavy equipment into Gaza. No diggers or bulldozers, nor the fuel or generators to run them.

They say it will fall into Hamas’s hands.

It was a major sticking point during the ceasefire and it is a major issue now as the bombardment continues, given the fact that hundreds if not thousands of civilians might survive if there were the equipment to extract them.

Members of Salah Jundia's family left alive after the attack
Image:
Members of Salah Jundia’s family left alive after the attack

Salah Jundia and his family
Image:
Salah Jundia and his surviving family

Civil defence trying to get to the Jundia family home over the next few days were halted because the IDF were in the vicinity. A family friend tried himself and was killed.

The footage that our camera teams have shot in Shujaiyya over the past two weeks shows how civil defence teams struggle to save those who are trapped and injured with the most rudimentary of equipment – plastering trowels, sledgehammers, ropes and small drills.

“The tight siege stops civil defence equipment from getting in,” says one.

They added: “So we are taking much longer to respond to these events. Time is a factor in getting these people out. So we call immediately for the necessary equipment to be allowed in for the civil defence to use.”

The IDF say they are investigating the circumstances around the Jundia family as a result of our enquiries.

In relation to the access of heavy equipment into Gaza, they say they work closely with international aid organisations to enable the delivery of humanitarian activities in accordance with international law.

The last contact Jundia had from beneath the rubble was a phone call from his uncle Ziad, three days after the strike.

“The line was open for 25 seconds then it went dead. We don’t know what happened. We tried to call, but there was no answer,” he says.

He and his family were displaced several times before they returned home to Shujaiyya – to Rafah in the south, then Khan Younis and Deir al-Balah.

Along the way, Jundia lost one brother and a nephew to Israeli bombs.

Read more:
Israeli air strike hits Gaza hospital
Red dye dumped into US embassy in Israel protest
Israel shot at ambulances over ‘perceived threat’

“We were happy and all the family came back. We went back to our house. It was damaged, but we improvised and we lived in it. We have nothing to do with the resistance. We are not interested in wars. But we have been gravely harmed,” he says.

Continue Reading

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