Catfishing: McCartney investigation delayed by ‘under-resourcing’

An investigation into Prolific Online Sex Abser Alexander McCartney has dragged on for “Lower Revival”, a report by the police of Northern Ireland (PONI) has found.

It found the ability of police to “keep children safe” to be “significantly compromised”.

McCartney, 27, is Given a life sentence last yearwith a minimum of 20 years in prison, for the online abuse of children and the human laughter of a 12-year-old girl.

The police service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) said it was “extremely sorry for any further distress that may be caused by the findings and the lessons that need to be learned.

McCartney, who has come out recently, has been identified as one of the world’s worst online abusers.

Although he admitted to 185 charges, he is believed to have created fake Personas to target as many as 3,500 victims, aged 10, from 30 countries.

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

The PSNI has asked PONI to carry out an independent review of the handling of the McCartney case, with the results published on Monday.

McCartney’s litsany of crimes between 2013 and 2019 has been described as “the biggest catfishing case in the UK”.

Catfishing involves using a false online identity with Befriend and exploiting victims.

Poni Chief Executive Hugo said the PSNI’s Cybercrime teams did not have “the capacity or competence” to manage the risk McCartney posed.

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

The report also found that the handling of McCartney’s bail conditions was “ineffective”.

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

He was released on bail and a delay in making public reports about the 1,100 indecent images meant he was not interviewed until two years later.

During this time, McCartney was 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 accommodation “amidst a growing backlog of devices requiring examination relating to Online Child Abuse”.

He added: “When the initial devices were recovered from McCartney in 2016, the officer responsible for investigating his online offending was part of a team that posted against the posting against the posting of 14 that should have been recovered.

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

“Opportunities to proactively follow the evidence to identify where inappropriate images of children are being shared are being missed.”

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

In 2018, the PSni Cybercrime Center, with 60 staff, had 935 computers and 284 mobile phones to check.

The center prioritized terrorism and serious criminal offenses, “negative and adverse impact on the assessment of child protection devices submitted by the child”.

“Yet what Alexander McCartney has done is violence against women and girls at the worst level in the online space, and we have seen the tragic consequences,” Mr Hume told BBC NIVE NI.

“All cases of this nature – of violence against women and girls should carry the least weight of other similar criminality and should be prioritized within the PSNI.”

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

Conditions include living at an approved address and not having contact with children under 16 unless supervised.

The PONI report said there was “a culture” where officials imposed “superficial, ineffective and unconstrained bail conditions on suspects and offenders”.

Mr Hume said McCartney’s “continuing anger was endlessly unsettling”.

Staff in the “overstretched” child protection team were “unable to adequately impose or administer meaningful bail conditions, such as restrictions on Internet access”.

He added: “It is clear that the bail conditions imposed on him failed to deal with the risks he was taking.

“Indeed, this is symptomatic of the wider situation in Northern Ireland, as other suspected offenders are subjected to similar conditions, also without checks to ensure compliance.”

AFTER McCartney’s third arrest in 2019 a bail condition restricting his access to the Internet was imposed.

“I hope that the learning from our investigation and other similar inquiries will help to address the identified failures, with proactive inquiries given to children and young people in protection,” said Mr Hueme.

In a statement, the PSNI said they were “committed to learning from this case to strengthen our ability to protect children and young people who are at risk in the future”.

During the investigation, they said the request for their Child Internet Protection Team and Cybercrime Center was to “increase available and technological resources”.

“We know this has resulted in unacceptable delays in Digital Forensic Analysis, investigative progress, and the administration of bail conditions.”

Assistant Chief Constable Davy Beck said: “We’re listening, we’re learning, and we’re taking action.

“Improvements have been made to ensure that those who exploit and abuse children online are identified more quickly, investigated more effectively, and brought to justice.”

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