Posing as a teenage boy on social media and gaming platforms, he built false relationships with girls as young as 10. Years after the first victim reported him, a Chester court has now sentenced him.
A Sentence Handed Down In Chester
On Friday, Bilal Kazi, a 27-year-old Indian student, was sentenced to 30 years in prison at Chester Crown Court in north west England. He had pleaded guilty to a series of child sexual abuse offences committed online.
UK authorities described him as a serial online groomer who exploited and coerced several children into sexual acts.
A Teenager Who Did Not Exist
The court heard that Kazi pretended to be a teenage boy on social media and gaming platforms to win the trust of girls aged between 10 and 15. According to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), he made many of them believe they were in a genuine relationship.
Martin McRobb, Specialist Prosecutor at the CPS, said Kazi acted with absolute ruthlessness in grooming, manipulating and exploiting a large number of young, vulnerable girls. He said Kazi forced them to produce sexual images and then blackmailed those who refused his further demands, threatening to share the material with others.
When the victims realised they had been deceived, McRobb said, they were distressed, and some suffered serious and long term trauma.
The First Victim Speaks Up
According to Cheshire Constabulary, the first victim began talking to Kazi on Snapchat at the age of 13, believing he was the same age. The conversations quickly turned sexual.
In July 2021, police said, she told him she only wanted to be friends and would no longer send images. He became abusive, claimed she was his property and threatened to send what she had shared to her friends unless she obeyed. Afraid, she felt compelled to continue.
Soon afterwards, her Snapchat account was hacked and the content was sent to her friends. In November 2021, she reported Kazi to Derbyshire Police.
From Derbyshire To Chester
The case moved to Cheshire Constabulary after enquiries found that Kazi’s last known address was in Chester. It later emerged that he had left the country.
He was arrested when he returned to the UK at Heathrow Airport in July 2023 and was interviewed about the first victim’s allegations.
The Scale Behind One Complaint
What began with one report grew enormously. Police said officers identified 180 potential victims, and specialist Victim Identification Officers traced those targeted using usernames and other data recovered from his device.
As a result, 70 victims, aged between 11 and 17 at the time of the offending, were identified across 28 of the UK’s 45 police forces. Each was visited by officers and offered a chance to share their experiences.
Detective Constable Georgia Hughes of Cheshire’s Online Child Abuse Investigation Team called it a truly mammoth investigation. She said that for many girls, their contact with him was their first experience of what they believed was a romantic relationship, and that he exploited that trust. Many lived in fear of what he would do if they did not comply, she said, and some carried that fear for years.
A Warning From The Police
Detective Sergeant Ross Peel said he hoped the case showed police commitment to protecting vulnerable people and ending the sexual exploitation of children. He said it should also warn those who believe that hiding behind a screen makes them anonymous and untouchable.
The CPS said its Organised Child Sexual Abuse Unit presented overwhelming evidence gathered by police in Cheshire and the West Midlands.
What Happens Next?
How will the victims, now spread across much of the UK, be supported as the case closes? What lessons will platforms and police draw about spotting fake profiles aimed at children? And what questions will this case raise for parents about the online lives of their children?
For the families, the sentence ends one chapter. The effects on the victims, police say, will last much longer.
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Khushi Patel is a Senior Sub Editor at NewsX, covering automotive, technology, Lifestyle, entertainment, and mainstream news. She previously worked as a Copy Editor at Times Network and has written automotive editorial content, including comparison pieces, for TimesDrive.
The post He Pretended To Be A Teenage Boy, Groomed 70 Girls Online And Blackmailed Them: Indian Student Sentenced To 30 Years In UK appeared first on NewsX.