Safety campaign launched as PSNI warns of increase in online child sex crimes
According to the PSNI, there were 2,187 sexual offences against children in 2024, with almost half of those relating to grooming, sexual communication or crimes related to indecent images of those underage.
The PSNI said its Child Internet Protection Team is the busiest it has ever been since its inception in 2010.
The campaign from the police is centred on a number of high-profile cases over the last few years, and features clips from BBC docu-series Teen Predator/Online Killer, detailing the case of prolific child groomer Alexander McCartney from Newry.
McCartney was jailed and received a life sentence for his extreme online abuse of around 3,500 victims aged between 10 and 16 from over 30 countries.
His litany of abuse is regarded as the UK's largest catfishing case and led to the death of 12-year-old Cimarron Thomas, from West Virginia in the US, who took her own life in May 2018 rather than comply with McCartney's demands.
Cimarron's father took his own life 18 months later without ever knowing why his daughter took hers.
Detective Superintendent Jordan Piper said that the PSNI has a team of specialist officers with the Child Internet Protection unit tasked specifically with 'robustly investigating' groomers.
She said: 'We have specialist detectives within the Child Internet Protection Team who are dedicated to robustly investigating those who contribute to the cycle of child abuse and bringing those responsible before the courts.'
The campaign from the police also highlights the case of serial predator Max Hollingsbee, of Orient Circle in Lurgan, who abused at least 14 victims in a 'sophisticated series of offences', according to a judge earlier this year.
Hollingsbee showed no emotion as he was jailed in May for charges including inciting a child to sexual activity and possession of indecent photographs between 2021 and 2023.
Hollingsbee was aged between 17 and 19 when the offences occurred.
He came to the attention of the PSNI in October 2022 because of an investigation by Surrey Police into a child protection complaint regarding a 15-year-old girl.
He was arrested in November 2022 and police searched his home, seizing multiple electronic devices. Subsequent analysis of these devices uncovered hundreds of indecent images of children.
Hollingsbee would pose as a girl on various social media apps and converse with victims before persuading them to send explicit images of themselves.
He would then use these images to blackmail them into sending more images, threatening to post the explicit pictures online and send them to his victims' friends. In some cases, Hollingsbee hacked into the online accounts of young girls to steal private images.
Det Supt Piper added: 'Groomers like McCartney and Hollingsbee operate in a very similar way, concealing their identity online by pretending to be the same age as a child. They use fake profile pictures, pretending to have similar interests, to gain the trust of the child before steering the conversation to a sexual nature.
'Once trust is established, they use power and control to make, force, blackmail, guilt or trick a child into doing what the groomer wants. They may persuade a child to take part in online sexual activity, including sharing explicit images and videos.'
Bernie McNally, independent chair of the SBNI, added: 'No child should ever feel alone, afraid or manipulated by someone hiding behind a screen. Yet every day, online predators exploit the trust and innocence of young people, often in silence and secrecy. This campaign is a vital reminder of the urgent need for education, vigilance and open, honest conversations with our children.'
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