A 27-year-old Birmingham man has been sentenced to 30 years in prison for orchestrating what Cheshire Police have described as their largest-ever online child sexual abuse investigation.
Bilal Kazi, of Hubert Croft, targeted children aged between 10 and 17 across the UK by posing as a 14-year-old boy named “Reece” on social media and gaming platforms, including Snapchat, Wink, and Wizz. Over a four-year period, Kazi engaged in a systematic campaign of grooming and manipulation, coercing his victims into sending indecent images and videos before blackmailing them to secure further abuse.
At Chester Crown Court, Judge Steven Everett, the Recorder of Chester, sentenced Kazi to 30 years behind bars, with an additional eight years to be served on an extended licence. Describing Kazi as a “very dangerous person,” Judge Everett told the defendant: “You have taken away their childhoods.”
The investigation identified 70 direct victims across 28 police force areas, though authorities believe the total number of children targeted could be as high as 180. Kazi was ultimately convicted of 33 child sex offences, including causing a child to engage in penetrative sexual activity, making indecent images of children, and six counts of blackmail.
The offences were committed between 2021 and 2025 while Kazi was residing in Birmingham and studying for a master’s degree in chemical engineering. Following a police search for his whereabouts, Kazi was apprehended at Heathrow Airport in July 2023 upon his return from visiting family in Kuwait. Despite being released on bail, investigators discovered he continued to offend until his eventual remand in August 2025.
Forensic analysis of his digital devices revealed thousands of pieces of evidence, including 9,000 messages exchanged with a single victim over the course of just three weeks, as well as a large volume of category A child abuse material.
Detective Constable Georgia Hughes, of Cheshire Police’s Online Child Abuse Investigation Team, emphasized the severe psychological toll the abuse has taken on the victims. “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,” she said. “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.”
Martin McRobb, a specialist prosecutor at the Crown Prosecution Service, remarked on Kazi’s “absolute ruthlessness.” The court heard that Kazi was already a registered sex offender and subject to a Sexual Risk Order at the time some of the crimes were committed. In addition to his custodial sentence, he has been issued a Sexual Harm Prevention Order and a permanent restraining order.
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