Catfishing: Alexander McCartney jailed for minimum of 20 years
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PSNIWarning: This story contains distressing details of extreme child sexual abuseA man from Northern Ireland has been given a life sentence with a minimum of 20 years in jail for the extreme online sexual abuse of children and the manslaughter of a 12-year-old girl.Alexander McCartney, 26, from County Armagh, admitted 185 charges - including more than 50 blackmail offences.Now one of the world's most prolific online child abusers, he created fake personas to target as many as 3,500 victims, aged 10 to 16, from more than 30 countries.He pleaded guilty to manslaughter after a 12-year-old girl from the United States, Cimarron Thomas, took her own life in 2018 while he was abusing her. As it happened: Alexander McCartney jailed for minimum of 20 yearsOn Friday, Mr Justice O'Hara told Belfast Crown Court that McCartney, who has been in custody for five years, would not be considered for release before 2039.He said: "I do not sense remorse or shame."He added it was hard to think of “a sexua...