A Co Armagh man has been sentenced to five years and two months after admitting scores of child sexual abuse crimes against girls.
Max Hollingsbee, 21, of Orient Circle, Lurgan, faced charges including inciting a child to take part in sexual activity, possessing indecent photographs and unauthorised access to computer material between 2021 and 2023.
He previously pleaded guilty to some 42 charges.
Some 14 victims, who were girls and young women from across the UK, have been identified.
During a sentencing hearing at Craigavon Crown Court, Judge Donna McColgan said Hollingsbee will spend 31 months in prison, and 31 months on licence.
On Friday morning, Hollingsbee appeared in the dock dressed in a red polo shirt and jeans.
Sitting between two members of custody staff, Hollingsbee showed little expression during the hearing.
He replied yes, when asked whether he was Max Hollingsbee.
The court heard one of his victims described feeling petrified and crying in her bed during her ordeal.
Another said in a statement that she could not understand why someone would inflict what he did on another person.
Hollingsbee was described as having been between 17 and 19 years old when he “catfished” teenage girls, grooming them and coercing them to send him indecent images.
He used social media platforms including Wizz, Snapchat and Instagram, and went on to blackmail his victims to send more explicit pictures.
He also hacked into other girls’ accounts to obtain images and set up fake accounts with images he had obtained.
Hollingsbee was first arrested by the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) on November 11 2022 after the alarm was raised by one of his 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. Many of the images were advertised online and sold for payment.
He was arrested again on April 7 2023 and was found to have broken his bail conditions from the initial arrest, and also to have continued his offending.
The court heard Hollingsbee had been found to be extremely intelligent, with an IQ in the top 4% but, while he had had a contented childhood, he had been badly bullied as an adolescent and suffered from low self-esteem.
The court heard his offending was described as being due to an “addiction to power, control and sexual satisfaction”.
During sentencing, Judge McColgan said Hollingsbee will also to be subject to a Sexual Offences Prevention Order for 10 years, and will be on the sex offenders register for the rest of his life.
In a statement, the head of the Public Prosecution Service (PPS) Serious Crime Unit Catherine Kierans said Hollingsbee “used lies and deception to target and groom young victims for his own despicable ends”.
“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,” she said.
“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.”
Speaking outside court, Detective Inspector Chris Fleming said police welcomed the sentencing of a “child predator”.
“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,” he said.“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.”
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