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Oct. 26 (UPI) -- Alexander McCartney is sentenced to life in prison for the manslaughter death of a West Virginia girl he "catfished" on a mobile messaging app and other offenses, including blackmail. McCartney, 26, of County Armagh in Northern Ireland, pleaded guilty Friday to 185 charges related to years of catfishing young girls online and via messaging apps, including 58 attempts to blackmail his victims.
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McCartney created fake profiles that indicated he was a young girl and used social media to target up to 3,500 victims in more than 30 countries who were between ages 10 and 16.
He entered a guilty plea to a manslaughter charge arising from the death of a 12-year-old West Virginia girl who committed suicide in 2018 when targeted by McCartney.
Belfast Crown Court Justice John O'Hara on Friday sentenced McCartney to life in prison with no possibility of parole for at least 20 years.
McCartney "used social media on an industrial scale to inflict such terrible and catastrophic damage on young girls," O'Hara said while sentencing McCartney on Friday.
Among his victims was the West Virginia girl, whom McCartney targeted on Snapchat and who committed suicide in May 2018.
The girl's father, Ben Thomas, was a U.S. Army veteran and committed suicide 18 months after his daughter took her life.
McCartney also was convicted for multiple offenses in which he caused children to engage in sexual activities and sexual communication with a child.
He also pleaded guilty to 58 blackmail charges and possessing indecent images of children from 2013 through 2019.
O'Hara called McCartney's offenses "sexploitation" that involved "sadism and depravity," which necessitated the life sentence that typically is only given upon murder convictions.
The judge also said McCartney continued to commit offenses while he was awaiting trial and free on bail.
Police first searched McCartney's home in January 2016 and was arrested in July 2019, but he continued his activities, which "got worse and worse," O'Hara said.
"I find it hard to think of a sexual deviant who poses more risk than this defendant," O'Hara said.
McCartney claimed he was subjected to online abuse while a teenager, but O'Hara dismissed the claim while sentencing McCartney.
Police said McCartney primarily used Snapchat, Instagram and Kik to create fake online profiles to catfish his victims and trick them into sending him sexual images of themselves.
After receiving the images, McCartney revealed his real identity and threatened to send images to his victims' friends and family.
He also made some of his victims involve their younger siblings or pets and often targeted young girls who were gay or who questioned their sexuality.
He told one victim he had her address and would send people to rape her if she didn't do as he said.
