Overview
- Northern Ireland's Police Ombudsman concluded that staffing shortfalls and poor case management allowed McCartney to keep contacting children after his 2016 arrest.
- Evidential reports on seized devices were so delayed that McCartney was not re-interviewed for two years and three months following the initial seizure.
- The Cybercrime Unit, staffed by about 60 officers, received 935 computers and 284 phones for analysis in 2018 with no added resources to cut the backlog.
- Bail oversight consisted of cursory checks, and meaningful internet restrictions were only imposed after a further arrest in 2019, which he then breached before being remanded.
- McCartney’s offending reached victims in Scotland and Los Angeles, and the report notes the death of 12-year-old Cimarron Thomas in 2018; he is now serving a 20-year sentence for more than 100 offences including unlawful act manslaughter.