An Indian student who groomed at least 70 girls, aged between 10 and 17, and manipulated them into sharing sexually explicit images and videos has been sentenced to 30 years in prison in the United Kingdom.
Bilal Kazi, 27, was convicted of targeting the minors through social media platforms, including Snapchat, Wink and Roblox, between August 2021 and August 2025.
Kazi, who was studying at the University of Chester, reportedly created a fake online identity, posing as a 14-year-old British boy named Reece.
He used photographs taken from the social media account of an unidentified teenage boy to convince his victims that they were communicating with someone their age.
Prosecutors told Chester Crown Court that Kazi manipulated the girls into believing they were in romantic relationships with him before pressuring them to share increasingly intimate content.
When some victims resisted his demands, he allegedly threatened to distribute images they had previously shared or content he had secretly recorded through Snapchat.
In some instances, he hacked into their social media accounts and shared the material with their friends or published it online.
The court heard that Kazi also demanded that some victims share their live locations, claiming he was protective of them.
He pleaded guilty in July 2026 to 37 offences, including making indecent images of children, blackmail and inciting children to engage in sexual activity.
Two additional charges were left to lie on file.
The court sentenced him to 30 years in prison, with a minimum of 20 years to be served before he can be considered for parole.
He will also be placed on the sex offenders register for life and, if released on parole, will remain on licence for eight years.
The investigation began in December 2021 after one of the victims reported the abuse to Derbyshire Police.
The girl told investigators that she had started communicating with Kazi on Snapchat when she was 13, believing he was also a teenager.
The case was subsequently transferred to Cheshire Constabulary in May 2022, with investigators initially identifying 180 possible victims.
Kazi, who had left the university and moved away from Chester, was arrested at Heathrow Airport on July 21, 2023, when he returned to the United Kingdom.
He was also linked to eight further offences investigated by West Midlands Police, which were considered as part of his overall sentence.
During sentencing, Judge Stephen Everett described Kazi as a dangerous sexual predator who had exploited weaknesses in online safety systems to target children.
The judge said the victims had believed they were safe in their homes but had been subjected to manipulation and threats through social media.
He also questioned Kazi's remorse, saying the offences had caused lasting harm to the young victims.
In victim impact statements presented to the court, some girls described continuing struggles with anxiety and the loss of their sense of privacy and security.
One victim said the abuse had affected her daily life long after the incidents occurred, while another, who was 13 when Kazi first contacted her, said the experience had taken away her innocence.
The court also heard that some victims had experienced serious psychological difficulties, including anxiety and eating disorders.
Detective Constable Georgia Hughes of Cheshire Police said Kazi had exploited the trust of young girls, many of whom believed they were experiencing their first romantic relationships.
She said the victims had lived in fear of what he would do if they refused to comply with his demands, with the consequences of the abuse continuing to affect them years later.
Sergeant Ross Peel urged parents and guardians to take an active interest in the online platforms used by children and to discuss the risks of communicating with strangers online.
He warned that online offenders could target children from anywhere in the world, making awareness and digital safety important in protecting young users.
