Stormont’s justice secretary regrets that McCartney’s victims may not be identified

Northern Ireland’s Justice Secretary Naomi Long has expressed concern that not all victims of catfish Alexander McCartney can be identified.

The online predator, who pushed one of his victims in the US to kill himself, was sentenced to at least 20 years in prison in a Belfast court on Friday.

McCartney, 26, who admitted 185 charges involving 70 children, posed as a teenage girl to befriend young women on Snapchat before blackmailing them, luring victims around the world.

He is considered one of the most prolific online perpetrators in the world.

Although he was imprisoned for charges involving 70 victims, the number of children he abused is believed to be around 3,500.

Ms Long has called on anyone who has been abused by McCartney or anyone else to come forward.

“The sad part of all this is that some of those victims may never be identified and I think that’s as disturbing to the (police) officers as it is to the rest of us, but at least the abuser has been identified and will make a significant serving time in prison for what he did,” she told BBC Radio Ulster’s Good Morning Ulster programme.

“Quite extensive searches were carried out during the investigation at the time to try to identify who those children were, and for some of them that was possible all over the world. For others they were untraceable, and I don’t think it will be easy, although there may be those who will come forward after reading the verdict in this case.

“I would certainly encourage anyone who has been abused in this way by McCartney or others to come forward to their local police to report what is happening. Many of these children were terrified of what would happen to them if they spoke up about what they had done because they felt guilty about their behavior.

“No one should ever feel scared when they find themselves in this situation. They are the victims, and if someone is being blackmailed in this way, I would really encourage them to get help, to talk to someone. You are treated as a victim and not as a criminal, and you receive the support that brings. you need.”

Ms Long also paid tribute to the police officers who carried out the investigation and to the Crown Prosecution Service.

“Those officers spent hours looking at material that no human being should ever see to ensure this case could go to trial,” she said.

“It was a complicated case, testing new parts of the law in the area of ​​online conduct, but I think it is a credit to them that it has gotten to this point.”