‘Catfish’ perpetrator Max Hollingsbee sentenced for offences in opposition to ladies

A 21-year-old County Armagh guy has been sentenced to 5 years and two months for a litany of on-line sexual offences in opposition to teenage ladies.

On Friday, Max Hollingsbee, of Orient Circle in Lurgan, used to be sentenced for his crimes in opposition to 14 ladies and younger ladies.

His crimes fall into the wider box of on-line catfishing – the place any person makes use of a false identification to realize the accept as true with of any person prior to exploiting them, additionally frequently known as “sextortion”.

Hollingsbee had up to now pleaded responsible to 42 fees throughout two indictments, which prosecutors consider represents an exhaustive all of his offending.

The offences integrated inflicting kids below 16 to have interaction in sexual process, blackmail, possessing indecent images, tried intimidation, unauthorised get right of entry to to laptop subject matter, sexual communications with a kid and the distribution of indecent pictures of a kid.

Half of his sentence might be served in jail and part on licence.

At Craigavon Crown Court, Judge Donna McColgan mentioned Hollingsbee’s offending had taken position between 2021 and 2023 when he used to be 17-19.

He used apps together with Whizz, Snapchat and Instagram to befriend and exploit sufferers, blackmailing them into offering him with specific pictures.

The court docket heard that Hollingsbee had an IQ within the best 4% of the inhabitants with a selected experience in era which he used for nefarious functions.

He hacked one of the most ladies’ accounts to acquire additional pictures.

The court docket heard police have been not able to determine how he had controlled to try this in one of the most circumstances.

The court docket heard Hollingsbee had low self-worth and have been bullied from a tender age however had exhibited an habit to energy, keep watch over and sexual delight.

The pass judgement on mentioned Hollingsbee had left considered one of his sufferers petrified, crying in her mattress.

Others had declined to discuss what had came about to them.

According to Public Prosecution Service assistant director Catherine Kierans, Hollingsbee used to be 17 when he started abusing ladies on-line.

“He pretended to be a younger male and on occasions a female to gain the trust of other younger people,” she mentioned.

“He then proceeded to threaten and extort these children to provide him with naked images of themselves.”

Ms Kierans mentioned 14 younger ladies throughout the United Kingdom had been now coping with the fallout of the case which, like others of its sort, started on social media.

“He was using the platforms that are out there where young people gather online,” she mentioned.

“What he also did was try to sell the images and then blackmail the people who were trying to buy the images.

“So it used to be relatively a complicated collection of offences.”

Hollingsbee’s abuse used to be delivered to a halt after a few of his sufferers got here ahead.