Any lessons from catfish killer case will be learned, says Justice Minister

Northern Ireland’s Justice Minister Naomi Long has said any lessons from the Alexander McCartney case will be learned.

The online predator, who drove one of his victims in the US to take her own life, was jailed for at least 20 years in court in Belfast on Friday.

McCartney, 26, who admitted 185 charges involving 70 children, posed as a teenage girl to be friend young females on Snapchat before blackmailing them, and lured in victims across the world.

He is believed to be one of the world’s most prolific online offenders. While he was jailed for the charges relating to 70 victims, it is believed that the number of children he abused is about 3,500.

In January 2021, almost three years after the suicide of Cimarron Thomas, McCartney was connected to her death but he had come to the attention of the PSNI years before.The judge in this case noted that McCartney continued to abuse children when he was on police bail.The PSNI’s handling of the early stages of this case had been investigated by the Police Ombudsman.

Referred by the Chief Constable, it related to earlier searches of his home in Newry and the seizure of devices back in 2016 and March 2018 before Cimarron's death.

UTV can now reveal that McCartney's bail conditions were also under scrutiny.The Justice Minister has stressed that: "If there are lessons to be learned at any point in the justice system from this case then I think those cases will be learned and will be embraced."

Ms Long has urged anyone who was abused by McCartney or anyone else to come forward.

She said: “I think a combination of the taboos around these issues, the shame, the embarrassment. The feeling that they have let their parents down and things like that silence children and make them more vulnerable.

"I think there is an opportunity now to say to young people whatever mistakes you have made online or elsewhere. It does not matter. You are a victim and you will be treated as a victim and taken seriously if you come forward", she said.

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