Dubai: An Indian student in Britain has been sentenced to 30 years in prison for grooming at least 70 girls online, deceiving them into believing they were in romantic relationships with him before blackmailing them into providing sexually explicit images and videos.
Bilal Kazi pleaded guilty to 37 child sexual abuse offences, including blackmail, making indecent images of children and inciting children to engage in sexual activity.
He was sentenced at Chester Crown Court on Friday and must serve at least 20 years before becoming eligible for parole, according to the BBC and The Times of India.
Kazi will also remain on the sex offenders register for life.
Posed as 14-year-old British boy
Kazi, 27, originally from Mumbai, studied at the University of Chester before moving to Birmingham, where he reportedly pursued chemistry studies. He pleaded guilty to 37 child sexual abuse offences, including blackmail and inciting children to engage in sexual activity.
Between August 2021 and August 2025, Kazi targeted girls aged 10 to 17 through Snapchat, Roblox and Wink.
Using the name “Reece”, he posed as a 14-year-old white British boy and used photographs taken from another teenager’s social media account.
He persuaded victims that they were in genuine relationships with him before pressuring them to share increasingly intimate images and videos.
