141: “World’s Wоrst Cаtfish” Gamer Who Abusеd 3000+ Kids From His Bedroom – Alexander McCartney

The Criminal Makeup

True Crime, Society & Culture, History

4.8 • 2.2K Ratings

🗓️ 23 January 2025

⏱️ 73 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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If you have been affected by any of the themes in this episode, please consider visiting the following resources:

The Samaritans helpline: 116 123
Refuge domestic abuse helpline: 0808 2000 247 (live chat is also available at https://www.nationaldahelpline.org.uk/Contact-us *times apply)
Safeline domestic abuse helpline: 01926 402 498
Safeline national male survivor helpline: 0808 800 5005
Rape Crisis Helpline: 0808 802 9999 (help is also available at live chat at https://rapecrisis.org.uk/get-help/live-chat-helpline/ *times apply)
Sexual Assault Support Line: 01708 765200

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hi everyone. I hope you're all doing so well and welcome back to the criminal makeup podcast. Each episode,
0:15.6	we dive into the minds of some of the worst criminals in history and today we are covering another case that has been
0:21.7	making the headlines in the UK, but he has been making headlines internationally.
0:26.6	Because just last week, a story came out about a man called Alexander McCartney, who lived a
0:32.3	very isolated life. He spent all of his time, pretty much locked in his bedroom, immersed in the online gaming world,
0:39.4	until one day Alex turned to Snapchat. He created a fake profile pretending to be a teenage girl.
0:45.6	He started conversations with other very young girls. And I'm talking between the ages of 10 and 16 years
0:52.3	old, so very young children. He would win their trust, charm them, flirt with
0:57.2	them and then manipulate them, until he convinced these young girls to send nude or topless
1:02.8	photos to him. Alex would then use these photos to blackmail these little girls to carry out
1:08.7	some of the most horrific sexual acts you can imagine.
1:12.2	And the victim number for today's case runs into the thousands.
1:16.6	Alex McCartney's paedophile operation spanned the globe.
1:21.1	Until one day, Alex pushed his despicable and twisted sexual blackmail too far.
1:26.7	And it resulted in a young girl taking her own
1:29.7	life. And her name was Simmerin Thomas. She was just 12 years old. Her story is absolutely harrowing. However,
1:38.4	her family, they want to spread awareness of this case to try and prevent anything like this
1:43.6	happening to any other child ever again, which is why I wanted to cover this case to try and prevent anything like this happening to any other child ever again,
1:46.2	which is why I wanted to cover this case today. It is an important case to talk about, and this
1:51.1	case needs to be heard. So with all of that being said, let's jump in.
2:00.6	Alexander McCartney, also known as Alex, was born on the 2nd of April 1998, making him an heirs.
2:08.6	And he grew up just outside of Nuri, which is in Northern Ireland, where he lived with his parents and his three siblings.
	...

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