richard morgan. — until at least 2039. richard morgan. as _ until at least 2039. as always, - until at least 2039. richard morgan, as always, that. until at least 2039. richard | morgan, as always, that you very much on a very difficult day and a very difficult case there, richard morgan are currently in belfast out of the court there was should just add this is a really difficult case and a lot of the details are very, very upsetting so we are not going to go into them but of course a really important story to report on. catherine kierans, chief prosecutor at the northern ireland police service, spoke at a news conference a short while ago. mccartney has now been held accountable for his devastating crimes, including the manslaughter of cimarron thomas, a 12—year—old girl from the united states of america. this little girl was one of thousands of victims of mccartney's abuse around the world. he has caused immeasurable damage to children and their families. given the scale and complexity of his offending, the cps worked closely with the police from an early stage

a very difficult case, richard morgan at the court there in belfast. that these are very difficult details there, detailso are very difficult details there, detail so difficult and upsetting that we will not be going into them because they are just a very, very upsetting. when we heard justice 0'hara talking about them he described the crimes as sadism and depravity and scarring and robbing the children of their childhoods. police believe he targeted around three and half thousand children across 30 countries. as we look back at this very typical case i willjust remind you that... bbc�*s cormac campbell has more on the story — and a warning that you may find it very upsetting. cimarron thomas was a 12—year—old schoolgirl from west virginia. in 2018, alexander mccartney used a fake persona to befriend her online. he convinced her to share compromising photographs, and then he turned on her, telling her that unless she did exactly as he said, the images would be posted. four days later, mccartney returned using another fake persona. he demanded she engag

let's speak to our ireland correspondent richard morgan — who is outside the court in belfast.e latest. the judge bring us the latest. the “udge here is expected * bring us the latest. the 'udge here is expected to h bring us the latest. the judge here is expected to begin - bring us the latest. thejudgei here is expected to begin that sentencing process in the next few minutes we understand that could take well over one hour, given the gravity of the case. given the sheer number of charges mccartney has admitted to. 185 in total including one charge of manslaughter. mccartney brought fear and devastation into the homes of thousands of young children right around the world using online messaging platforms such as snapchat and instagram. as you said, he would pose as a young girl with body image issues and gained the trust of those he targeted and get them to send explicit photos and then turn on them, blackmail them happen —— have them engage in acts of humiliation and depravity and in some cases mccartney had his young victims of abuse other young children for his own sexual g

let's speak to our ireland correspondent richard morgan — who is outside the court in belfast.judge just bring us up—to—date on what else the judge has said. thejudge says he what else the judge has said. the judge says he does what else the judge has said. thejudge says he does not what else the judge has said. the judge says he does not want to read out the full horrors of mccartney's crimes, given the detail and the sheer horror of those crimes. mccartney is sitting in the dock with his head in his hands and looking at the floor like he has done in previous hearings. thejudge has said that it is clear that he is devoid of normal human empathy. we heard thejudge told the court that at times when some of his victims said they wanted to take their own lives if he published images, he would reply online, good luck and goodbye. thejudge also addressed claims from mccartney that he himself was a victim of cat fishing once. the judge said he was unable to find any evidence that is true. the account is made up in the event he would be arrested. evenif event he would be arrested. eve

let's speak to our ireland correspondent richard morgan, who is outside the court in belfast. l case, richard. an absolutely awful case, richard-— an absolutely awful case, richard. , ., . richard. absolutely horrific. in fact, richard. absolutely horrific. in fact. one _ richard. absolutely horrific. in fact, one of— richard. absolutely horrific. in fact, one of the _ richard. absolutely horrific. in fact, one of the worst - richard. absolutely horrific. i in fact, one of the worst cases prosecutors say they have come across here in northern ireland. many of the details that we heard in court, many of the crimes committed by at mccartney are so grotesque that we are unable to broadcast them this evening. mccartney was formulaic in his methods. he had refined his method of abuse over the years, targeting young, vulnerable girls, pretending to be a young girl himself before commencing them to sin compromising photos of themselves. in some instances, he was able to commit that abuse in just minutes and he was able to commit that abuse injust minutes and begin blackmailing his vic

our ireland correspondent richard morgan is outside the court in belfast. bring us up—to—date.we speak, i'm once again warning our viewers that details from this case are very, very difficult. they are very upsetting. bring us up—to—date with this breaking news. the? with this breaking news. they are upsetting _ with this breaking news. they are upsetting the _ with this breaking news. they are upsetting the true - with this breaking news. tie: are upsetting the true horror of mccartney's crimes we are unable to broadcast and today the judge unable to broadcast and today thejudge said as part unable to broadcast and today the judge said as part of his sentencing he did not want to read out the full quarter of the crimes he said was not necessary to revisit the details of sadism and depravity. thejudge had indicated some of the charges carried a life sentenced but we are now hearing that 20 years is the minimum that - with this breaking news. they are upsetting _ with this breaking news. they are upsetting the _ with this breaking news. they are upsetting the true - with this br