Victim of catfish predator Max Hollingsbee: ‘I will always be angry at him for taking my innocence away'

Independent

6 hours ago

A victim of prolific catfish offender Max Hollingsbee has said she will always be angry that he stole her innocence.
A complaint made by Immy (not her real name) led police to discover a litany of sex offences against other teenage girls committed by Hollingsbee.
Immy has said she now wants to use her experiences to help other victims.
Hollingsbee, 21, of Orient Circle, Lurgan, was sentenced in May to five years and two months after admitting scores of child sexual abuse crimes against girls.
He had pleaded guilty to some 42 charges with 14 victims identified.
Immy, from the Surrey area, was 15 when she met Hollingsbee, who was using a fake profile, through the Wizz app three years ago.
She said: 'He presented himself as being 16 and male. There were photographs which I know now weren't him.
'At the time I didn't see anything wrong with it. I thought you could only talk to people within a certain age range and you had to prove your age.
'We just had normal conversations. I was quite vulnerable at the time. It is an age where you want boys to like you, you want them to show interest in you. He was and he made me feel special, he made me feel seen.
'Now I now it was all part of his plan.'
She added: 'Once he had built up the trust I added him on my Snapchat. He started with more compliments, flattery, things like that.
'At 15 years old that is all a girl wants to hear. He knew that and he definitely played on that vulnerability.'
The situation escalated quickly with Hollingsbee demanding that Immy send him explicit photographs.
She said: 'He would give me very specific instructions. I didn't like it but I didn't know how to say no. I wasn't confident enough to say no.
'I didn't want him to stop talking to me and I didn't want him to stop giving me that attention.
'I did send photos. I obviously regret that but I've never been made to feel embarrassed and I've never been made to feel that it was my fault.'
Hollingsbee then attempted to blackmail the teenager, stating he would share the photographs with other people she knew if she did not send more. He did share the images with one of Immy's female friends.
At this point she told her mother what was happening.
She said: 'That was very scary for me. I was in such a state of panic it was like I blacked out, I was there and I was talking to my mum but I've no idea what I said to her.
'I showed her what was going on and just remember crying in a ball on the floor of her room.'
Once police were alerted, Hollingsbee was arrested in Northern Ireland and his devices seized, leading to the discovery of the other victims.
Thousands of photos and videos of underage girls performing sexual acts were found on his devices, obtained by blackmail or by hacking their social media accounts.
Immy also helped police to track him down. He had given her his phone number and she used to BeReal app to discover his true profile and name.
Immy said: 'Finding out there were so many other girls who hadn't said anything was the most gut-wrenching feeling in the entire world because I couldn't imagine not being able to tell someone.
'That was the hardest part, they were sitting at home so scared, so terrified and I knew how they felt because I had been there.
'Knowing they were so scared on their own was the worst feeling. Quite a few of them were younger than me.'
She added: 'I am angry, I will always be angry at him for doing that to me and taking my innocence away from me.
'That is what he did. He played on my vulnerability, played on my weaknesses. I was so used and no 15-year-old should ever have to deal with a man like that ever.
'Kids do make mistakes. It is important I am able to talk about it because they need someone their age to say it could happen to you. It can happen. If you don't feel you have got the support at home, the police will take action. They did everything they way I hoped they would.'
Immy said she hopes Hollingsbee is able to confront the impact of his actions when he is released from prison.
She said: 'I would be happy knowing that he sees the wrong he did.
'I have made a lot of effort to not let it change my outlook about people.
'Not everyone is like that, he is a very specific type of person. But it did take a big toll, I am not as trusting as I used to be.
'But I have stopped a lot of people, I hope, from having to deal with him.'
Immy is hoping to study psychology at university and to use her experiences to help other victims.
She said: 'I want to be able to go into schools and work with kids, using my experience to make something good.
'I think it is so important that I make something good out of a bad situation.
'I am hoping I will be able to make a difference.'