Daijiworld Media Network - UK
UK, Nov 14: A 27-year-old Indian student has been sentenced to 30 years in prison in north-west England for grooming and sexually exploiting several children online.
Bilal Kazi was sentenced at Chester Crown Court on Friday after pleading guilty to multiple child sexual abuse offences committed through online platforms.
The court heard that Kazi posed as a teenage boy on social media and gaming platforms to gain the trust of girls aged between 10 and 15. He manipulated them into believing they were in genuine relationships with him before coercing them into sending explicit photographs and videos. He also threatened to share the material with others if they refused to comply with his further demands.
Martin McRobb, specialist prosecutor at the UK's Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), said Kazi had exploited and manipulated a large number of vulnerable girls, causing serious and lasting trauma to several victims.
The investigation was carried out by police teams in Cheshire and the West Midlands. According to Cheshire Constabulary, officers identified 180 potential victims. Specialist officers subsequently traced 70 victims, who were aged between 11 and 17 at the time of the offences and were spread across 28 of the UK's 45 police forces.
Investigators found that Kazi used platforms including Snapchat, Roblox and Wink to contact his victims. He allegedly posed as a white British teenage boy named 'Reece' and used photographs of an unidentified boy to create a false identity and build relationships with the girls.
One victim told police that she had begun communicating with Kazi on Snapchat when she was 13, believing he was of the same age. Their conversations later turned sexual. In July 2021, when she told him she wanted to remain friends and no longer wished to send images, he allegedly became abusive and threatened to circulate the material she had previously shared.
Fearing the threats, the girl continued sending explicit images and videos. Her Snapchat account was subsequently hacked, and the material was shared with her friends. She reported the matter to Derbyshire Police in November 2021.
The investigation was later transferred to Cheshire Constabulary after enquiries established that Kazi's last known address was in Chester. Although he had left the country, he was arrested at Heathrow Airport in July 2023 after returning to the UK.
Detective Constable Georgia Hughes of Cheshire Constabulary said the investigation required extensive resources and cooperation across police forces. She said the abuse had left many victims living in fear and had a profound impact on their lives.
Detective Sergeant Ross Peel said the case demonstrated the police commitment to protecting vulnerable children and warned that offenders could not assume they would remain anonymous behind a screen.
Police said all 70 identified victims were visited by officers and offered the opportunity to disclose their experiences. The investigation also highlighted the importance of reporting online grooming and exploitation to the authorities.