Photo gallery
Photographs released with the case record. The captions identify the people shown.
Resized; full frame retained.
The case
Alexander McCartney used false online identities to contact children and then blackmailed them for sexual images. The prosecution involved 185 admitted charges concerning 70 victims, within a much wider investigation.
Evidence and court findings
The PPS established that his coercion caused the death of a 12-year-old in the United States. McCartney admitted manslaughter as well as sexual offences and blackmail. The case required cross-border evidence and legal arguments about online images as property for blackmail. This account does not identify protected victims.
The sentence
Belfast Crown Court imposed life imprisonment with a 20-year minimum tariff on 25 October 2024. A December correction replaced some subsidiary sentences with extended custodial sentences; the judge said this would not reduce the time to be served.
Sources and case status
Includes the December 2024 correction to subsidiary sentences. This report does not claim a complete appeal history; protected victims remain anonymous.
By Street Crime UK · Source record checked 21 October 2026.
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