Online catfishing abuser believed to have targeted 3,500 victims across world
A Northern Ireland man at the centre of a global web of catfishing, blackmail and sexual abuse is believed by police to have targeted about 3,500 children.From the bedroom of his childhood home near Newry, Alexander McCartney created a catfishing network which lured in victims across 30 countries.The scale of the offending by McCartney stunned even the most experienced investigators, one describing it as a “paedophile enterprise”.Between 2015 and 2019, the computer science student posed as a young girl on Snapchat or other forums. He would befriend girls between the ages of 10 and 16 who he would then...
‘It’s important to talk about online abuse’: Marianna Spring on trolls, conspiracy theorists – and positivity
The BBC receives more abusive messages about Marianna Spring than anyone else. But the disinformation correspondent remains hopeful about people – and the world we live in
Santa Maria man arrested for possession, distribution, and sale of child pornography
SANTA MARIA, Calif. – A 38-year-old Santa Maria man was arrested for possession of child sexual abuse material, selling and distributing child sexual abuse material, and sending harmful or obscene material with the intent to seduce a minor. According to Santa Maria Police, Detectives received a criminal cyber tip about a suspected purchase of child The post Santa Maria man arrested for possession, distribution, and sale of child pornography appeared first on News Channel 3-12.
Paedophile who made ‘chilling’ AI child abuse images jailed in landmark case
A man has been jailed for 18 years after creating AI-generated child sex abuse images in an “utterly chilling” landmark case.Hugh Nelson, a 27-year-old from Bolton with a Masters degree in graphics, pleaded guilty to 11 offences in August at Bolton Crown Court, including three counts each of distributing and making indecent images.The former student accepted requests from individuals via online chatrooms for “bespoke” explicit images depicting children being harmed both sexually and physically, and used pictures of real children to create some of the computer-generated images, the court heard.Nelson frequently discussed child sexual abuse with other chatroom users...