Bilal Kazi has been jailed for 30 years after a major police investigation uncovered a network of online child sexual abuse involving 70 victims across the UK.
The case became Cheshire Constabulary’s largest investigation into online child sexual abuse after officers uncovered evidence of widespread offending while examining Kazi’s mobile phone.
After a report made to Derbyshire Police by one of Kazi’s victims, the investigation was initially taken over by Cheshire Constabulary’s Online Child Abuse Investigation Team (OCAIT) in May 2022.
The girl began speaking to Kazi on Snapchat when she was 13, believing he was the same age as her. Their conversations quickly became sexual, with Kazi requesting explicit images and videos.
When the victim told him in July 2021 that she wanted to remain friends and no longer wished to send him images, Kazi became abusive and claimed she was his property.
He threatened to distribute the content she had previously shared with him to her friends unless she continued to comply with his demands.
Fearing the threats, the victim felt compelled to keep sending explicit material. Shortly afterwards, her Snapchat account was hacked and the images and videos were sent to her friends.
She reported Kazi to Derbyshire Police in November 2021.
The investigation was subsequently transferred to Cheshire Constabulary after enquiries established that Kazi’s last known address was in Chester.
However, officers discovered he had left the area and his whereabouts were unknown. He was circulated as wanted while police continued efforts to trace him.
Investigators later established that Kazi had left the country. He was arrested at Heathrow Airport on his return to the UK in July 2023 and interviewed about the allegations.
His mobile phone was seized and examined by the force’s Digital Forensics Unit (DFU), uncovering evidence of what investigators believe to be the largest network of offending ever encountered by OCAIT.
Officers identified 180 potential victims, with specialist Victim Identification Officers using usernames and other information recovered from the device to trace those targeted.
The investigation ultimately identified 70 victims, aged between 11 and 17 at the time of the offending, across 28 of the UK’s 45 police forces.
Each of the identified victims was visited by police officers and given the opportunity to disclose their experiences.
It was revealed that Kazi used the likes of Snapchat, Roblox and Wink to target young girls, posing as a teenage boy called ‘Reece’ and using photographs of an unidentified boy to convince victims they were communicating with someone their own age.
After establishing contact, he would groom them into believing they were in a genuine romantic relationship before requesting explicit images and videos.
He manipulated the girls into thinking that sharing such material was a normal part of being in a relationship, before escalating his demands and pressuring them into recording themselves performing sexual acts.
When victims refused, Kazi threatened to distribute images and videos they had already sent him.
These threats left some frightened and intimidated, with victims continuing to engage with him because they feared the consequences of refusing.
In some cases, he maintained contact with victims for more than a year, continuing to deceive them about his identity.
Kazi was charged with 39 offences as part of Cheshire Constabulary’s investigation, relating to offending between August 2021 and August 2025. He pleaded guilty to 37 charges, while two were left to lie on file.
West Midlands Police also charged him with eight further offences committed while he was on police bail for the Cheshire investigation. These were considered as part of his overall sentence.
The charges included causing a child aged 13-15 to engage in penetrative sexual activity, blackmail and making indecent images of children.
The 27-year-old was sentenced to 30 years in prison, followed by eight years on extended licence.
Following the sentencing, Detective Constable Georgia Hughes, of the Online Child Abuse Investigation Team, said: “The scale of Kazi’s offending meant this was a truly mammoth investigation, requiring significant resources and close collaboration across the force.
“Thanks to the dedication and expertise of our colleagues in the OCAIT, Digital Forensics Unit and Victim Identification Unit, we were able to identify 70 victims across the UK and give them the opportunity to have their voices heard.
“There is a misconception that online offences have less impact on victims than crimes committed in person, but that could not be further from the truth.
“The girls targeted by Kazi were young and vulnerable.
“For many, their interactions with him were their first experience of what they believed to be a romantic relationship. Exploiting that trust, Kazi manipulated them into believing that his behaviour was normal.
“His offending has had a profound and lasting impact on the victims.
“Many lived in constant fear of what he would do if they failed to comply with his demands, and some have carried that fear with them for years. What should have been important formative years have instead been overshadowed by the trauma of Kazi’s abuse.
“I hope today’s result provides the victims with a sense of closure now that Kazi has been held accountable for his actions, and I hope it allows them to move forward with their lives knowing that he can no longer cause harm to anyone else.”
Detective Sergeant Ross Peel said: “Victims should never feel ashamed of what they have experienced.
“The responsibility for these offences lies solely with the offender, and we want anyone who has been subjected to this kind of abuse to know that they will be listened to, supported and taken seriously.
“Our message to parents is to speak to your children and take an interest in the apps and platforms they are using.”
“The potential for online offending is vast, and offenders can target children from anywhere in the world.
“By educating yourselves and your children about online safety and the risks associated with communicating with people they do not know online, you can help protect them from becoming victims of crime – the impact of which can be profound and long-lasting.
“I hope this case demonstrates our commitment to protecting vulnerable people and bringing an end to the sexual exploitation of children. It should also serve as a warning to those who, like Kazi, believe that hiding behind a screen makes them anonymous and untouchable.
“No matter where you are or how you choose to offend, those who target children and vulnerable people will be identified and brought to justice.”
——————————————————–
Click Here For The Original Source.
