A survivor of serial catfish offender Max Hollingsbee has expressed that she will forever resent him for robbing her of her innocence, reports RTE.
A report filed by Immy (a pseudonym) prompted authorities to uncover a series of sexual offenses against other teenage girls perpetrated by the Co Armagh resident.
Immy has shared that she now aims to channel her ordeal into supporting other victims, reports RTE.
Hollingsbee, 21, from Orient Circle, Lurgan, received a sentence of five years and two months in May after confessing to numerous child sexual abuse offenses involving girls.
He admitted guilt to 42 charges, with 14 victims identified.
Immy, hailing from the Surrey region, was 15 when she encountered Hollingsbee, who used a false identity, via the Wizz app three years prior, reports RTE.
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,” reports RTE.
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,” reports RTE.
The situation rapidly intensified, with Hollingsbee pressuring Immy to send explicit images.
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,” reports RTE.
Hollingsbee then tried to extort the teenager, threatening to distribute the images to people she knew unless she sent more.
He shared the photos with one of Immy’s female friends.
At that point, she confided in her mother about the situation.
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,” reports RTE.
After police were notified, Hollingsbee was apprehended in Northern Ireland, and his devices were confiscated, revealing additional victims.
Thousands of images and videos of underage girls engaging in sexual acts were found on his devices, acquired through blackmail or by hacking their social media accounts, reports RTE.
Immy also assisted police in identifying him.
He had shared his phone number with her, and she used the BeReal app to uncover his real profile and identity.
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,” reports RTE.
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,” reports RTE.
Immy expressed hope that Hollingsbee will reflect on the consequences of his actions upon his release 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,” reports RTE.
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,” reports RTE.
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