Highlights
- Kazi, 27, targeted girls through social media and gaming platforms.
- He threatened to publish intimate images when victims refused his demands.
- Police recovered more than 900 indecent images and videos from his devices.
- He was already a registered sex offender and subject to a Sexual Risk Order.
A MAN who posed as a teenage boy to groom and sexually exploit children online has been jailed for 30 years.
Bilal Kazi, 27, from Birmingham, was sentenced at Chester Crown Court after pleading guilty to a series of child sexual abuse offences committed online. He was also given an extended licence period of eight years, the Crown Prosecution Service said on Friday (13).
Kazi used social media and gaming platforms to approach girls aged between 10 and 15. Pretending to be a teenage boy, he gained their trust and manipulated them into sending sexual images and videos of themselves.
When some of the girls refused to meet his further demands, he threatened to share their images with others. In one case, he uploaded a video online which was viewed by 93 people.
More than 900 images found
Police recovered more than 400 indecent images and videos from Kazi's phone during the investigation in Cheshire. A further 500-plus images and videos were found on his devices in Birmingham, many of them classified in the most serious category.
Kazi was already a registered sex offender and was subject to a Sexual Risk Order when he committed some of the offences.
The case came to light after the mother of one of the victims discovered messages from Kazi on her daughter's phone and reported them to police.
Martin McRobb, a specialist prosecutor at the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), said Kazi had groomed and exploited several vulnerable girls.
“Bilal Kazi acted with absolute ruthlessness in grooming, manipulating and exploiting a large number of young vulnerable girls. He befriended them online and forced them to take photos and videos carrying out sexual acts,” he said.
“He then blackmailed those who refused to comply with his further demands, threatening to post the explicit imagery to others.”
McRobb said Kazi had posed as a teenage boy to gain the trust of his victims, leading many to believe they were in a genuine relationship with him.
“When the victims realised they had been deceived, they were understandably distressed and some suffered serious and long-term trauma,” he added.
Further restrictions imposed
The CPS's Organised Child Sexual Abuse Unit presented evidence gathered by police investigators in Cheshire and the West Midlands.
McRobb said the CPS would continue to work with law enforcement agencies to prosecute those responsible for child sexual abuse and secure justice for victims.
Kazi was also made subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order and a Restraining Order.
Authorities have urged parents and carers to seek help if they are concerned about a child being targeted online. Children can use Report Remove, a service run by Childline and the Internet Watch Foundation, to request the removal of nude images shared online.
The NSPCC also provides advice to parents and carers. Anyone who believes a child is in immediate danger should call 999.
