A Lurgan catfisher who had a haul of hundreds of indecent images of children was today been jailed.
Max Hollingsbee, of Orient Circle, has been sentenced to five years and two months – half of which is to be served in custody, and half on licence – for 42 charges of online child sexual abuse crimes and blackmail.
The 21-year-old will also be subjected to a Sexual Offences Prevention Order for 10 years, and will be on the Sex Offenders Register for the rest of his life.
In October 2022 the PSNI were contacted by Surrey Police about a report of a 15-year-old girl that had been groomed by a then 18-year-old Hollingsbee, who was residing in Lurgan, telling victims he was a 16-year-old boy.
Following urgent investigative enquiries to pinpoint the suspect’s address, Detectives from the PSNI’s Public Protection Branch confirmed the home address of Hollingsbee, arrested and interviewed him.
His devices were seized uncovering thousands of photos and videos of underage girls performing sexual acts whilst being blackmailed or from hacking their social media accounts. Hollingsbee made and used many fake accounts across various online platforms to entrap and manipulate them.
He used the same behaviour pattern every time, connecting with young female children between the ages of 14-16 years old via Whiz, Snapchat and Instagram and begin a conversation, he used a number of alias and varies between portraying to be a male and a female.
Throughout the conversation he compliments and flatters the victims and asks them to send indecent images, which he then saves. For some victims Hollingsbee encourages them to provide him with the login details for their social media accounts, once he has access he downloads all of their images and takes control of their account.
Once he has these images he uses these to blackmail victims to provide more. As victims have been identified it has come to our attention that some were unaware that he had their images, which suggests he had hacked into their accounts.
Police have currently identified 14 victims and believe there are potentially more who have not yet come forward.
The images have then been advertised online via social media accounts. Messages linked to these accounts show Hollingsbee communicating with other child predators, not located in Northern Ireland, negotiating payments for content and boasting about the large collection of indecent images and videos he has to offer.
Once payment has been received he then blackmails them too by threatening to report them to Police if they do not send more money.
Many of the children were too afraid to speak to their parents and guardians about the abuse, only identified through the evidence Detectives located on Hollingsbee’s devices and the diligence and determination of the officers.
Detective Inspector Chris Fleming from the PSNI’s Public Protection Branch said: “We welcome today’s sentencing. Hollingsbee is a child predator who was financially benefitting from his exploits and inflicted trauma.
“We have worked long hours, alongside the Public Prosecution Service, on this case to bring him to justice today and are still working behind the scenes to identify more of his victims.
“People have an image of a paedophile in their minds, a ‘creepy’ old man hanging around play parks. The digital world has warped this and parents need to be aware that perpetrators are getting younger and more tech savvy. Not everyone your child speaks to online is who they say they are and they may have a sinister intent.
“Hollingsbee has caused serious and long-lasting harm on what we estimate to be around nine victims and their families. I want to thank those who have come forward so far for being so incredibly brave and assisting our investigations.
“I am glad his depraved offending has been uncovered and that it has today been taken seriously by our criminal justice system.
“We are working harder than ever to protect children who are being exploited in any way for the sexual gain of adults. If you are downloading, viewing, making, possessing or distributing indecent images of children, we will unveil you, pinpoint your location and put you in prison where you belong.”
The Head of the PPS Serious Crime Unit, Catherine Kierans, who prosecuted the case, said: “Sexual offences committed against children and young people are among the most heinous we see as prosecutors.
“Max Hollingsbee used lies and deception to target and groom young victims for his own despicable ends. His offending showed a level of devious sophistication, using a variety of methods to obtain indecent images of his victims and exert control over them.
“Once Hollingsbee had gained their trust using lies and deception, he manipulated, coerced and in some cases blackmailed his victims into sending him explicit images of themselves. He also sometimes hacked into private areas of victims’ social media accounts to obtain indecent images of them. In some cases he threatened he would send the girls’ private images to their contacts, causing great fear and distress.
“We worked closely with the Police Service of Northern Ireland, who carried out a robust and complex investigation, working with other police services across the UK, to build this case against Hollingsbee and secure the guilty pleas, saving his victims from having to give evidence in court.”
Ms Kierans said this case showed there was no hiding place for abusers.
“Do not underestimate the impact online grooming and abuse can have on young people. It can cause lasting harm, and make it difficult for them to trust people. We work closely with police to pursue and prosecute abusers, whatever methods they use, either offline or online, and wherever they operate.
“To people targeting young people online I would say – no matter how well you think you cover your tracks, these offences often leave a trail of evidence that allows police and prosecutors to investigate and prosecute robustly. You will be held to account for the harm you inflict on your victims,” she said.
Ms Kierans underlined the importance of being vigilant to the dangers posed by predators.
She said: “Young people deserve to be safe online and offline. However, we know that predators will go wherever children and young people are in order to target them. In this case some of the young women bravely raised the alarm about what Hollingsbee was doing. My message to young people is – if someone is demanding sexual images or videos of you, that is a crime and you are not to blame. Abusers thrive on secrecy so break that cycle and speak to a trusted adult.
“We also encourage parents and guardians to talk openly to young people about online safety and ensure they know how best to stay safe online.
“If you are concerned about any activity, whether online or physical, towards a child, or a vulnerable adult, please report it to police. Anyone of any age, gender, ethnicity or sexuality can be a victim of sexual offending. I want to reassure any potential victims, and parents or guardians, that the PSNI and the team in the PPS Serious Crime Unit take these cases extremely seriously and handle them with sensitivity and care.”
The PSNI is also making an appeal today to all parents/guardians of young people to be vigilant and check in on who they may be talking to online. They have published advice on their website here: https://www.psni.police.uk/safety-and-support/online-safety/keeping-children-safe-online
Parents/guardians and wider local communities should report any activity, online or physical towards a child that they find concerning. Similarly if you have concerns or suspicions that an adult you know or live with may be engaging in this type of illegal activity report to Police on 101 or 999 in an emergency.
