Warning: Readers may find the references to child sex abuse and suicide in this essay upsetting.
The 26-year-old Alexander McCartney has already admitted to 185 crimes, including manslaughter of a girl who committed suicide.
He was described by police as a “dangerous, relentless, cruel paedophile” who “may as well have pulled the trigger himself”; around 3,500 people were harmed.
Hundreds of thousands of pornographic images and videos of young girls were found on devices taken from his bedroom.
The victims, according to Belfast Crown Court, were from the UK, USA, continental Europe, and Australia, and they ranged in age from 10 to 16.
McCartney, a native of South Armagh, Northern Ireland, engaged in catfishing, which is the practice of impersonating someone online using Snapchat and other platforms.
He convinced his victims to send pictures by posing as a little girl. After that, he used blackmail to force them to send additional graphic content.
