Online groomer Bilal Kazi jailed for 30 years Chester 2026

Key Points

• Chester Crown Court sentenced Bilal Kazi, 27, of Hubert Croft, Birmingham, to 30 years in prison and an extra eight years on extended licence.
• Kazi, a former University of Chester PhD student, admitted 37 child sexual offences committed between August 2021 and August 2025, while two further charges were left to lie on file.
• Detectives from Cheshire Constabulary’s Online Child Abuse Investigation Team (OCAIT) traced 70 confirmed victims aged 11 to 17 across 28 of the UK’s 45 police forces, along with 180 potential victims.
• Using the fake identity of a 14-year-old white British boy called “Reece”, Kazi contacted girls on Snapchat, Roblox, and Wink and coerced them into sending explicit images and videos.
• His sentence also covered eight additional offences investigated by West Midlands Police, which he committed while on police bail.
• Judge Steven Everett ruled that Kazi must serve at least two-thirds of his prison sentence before he can apply for parole, and issued a lifelong sexual harm prevention order and a restraining order.

Chester (Birmingham Express) November 13, 2026 – A 27-year-old online sexual predator who posed as a teenage boy on social media and gaming platforms to groom and blackmail dozens of young girls across the United Kingdom has been jailed for 30 years at Chester Crown Court. Bilal Kazi, formerly of Chester and residing at Hubert Croft, Birmingham, received the custodial term alongside an additional eight years on extended licence after admitting 37 child sexual abuse charges following Cheshire Constabulary’s largest-ever online child abuse investigation.

How did Bilal Kazi target and groom his victims online?

As reported by Cheshire Constabulary in an official force release, Kazi operated a systematic method of deception to initiate contact with young and vulnerable girls. Using platforms including Snapchat, Roblox, and Wink, he adopted the false persona of a white British 14-year-old boy named “Reece”, using photographs of an unidentified boy to convince victims of his identity.

As reported by Barrie White of the Whitchurch Herald, prosecutor Myles Wilson told the court that Kazi would engage victims while playing online games such as Roblox before asking for their Snapchat details. Once connected on messaging applications, his conversations quickly turned flirtatious and sexual, with Kazi asking victims to be his girlfriend and persuading them that sending explicit images and videos was a normal part of a romantic relationship.

When victims refused to comply with escalating demands to record themselves performing sexual acts, Kazi resorted to intimidation and blackmail. As reported by ITV News Granada, Kazi threatened to distribute the intimate content victims had already shared with him to their friends and family unless they continued sending material. In some instances, he maintained deceptive contact with individual victims for more than a year.

What led to Kazi’s arrest and the scale of the police investigation?

The inquiry began after a 13-year-old girl reported Kazi to Derbyshire Police in November 2021. According to details published by Cheshire Constabulary, the girl had told Kazi in July 2021 that she only wished to remain friends, prompting him to become abusive, call her names, claim she was his property, and hack her Snapchat account to distribute her explicit photographs to her friends.

In May 2022, the investigation was formally transferred to Cheshire Constabulary’s Online Child Abuse Investigation Team (OCAIT) after enquiries established that Kazi’s last known address was in Chester, where he had studied for a PhD at the University of Chester. By that stage, Kazi had left the area and travelled abroad, prompting officers to circulate him as wanted.

As reported by Paul Britton of the Manchester Evening News, Kazi was arrested upon his return to the United Kingdom at Heathrow Airport in July 2023. Cheshire Constabulary’s Digital Forensics Unit seized and examined his mobile phone, uncovering evidence of 180 potential victims. Through extensive nationwide enquiries, detectives confirmed 70 victims aged between 11 and 17 across 28 of the UK’s 45 police forces.

What charges did Kazi admit and what did the court hear?

Kazi was charged with 39 offences as part of Cheshire Constabulary’s investigation, covering offending committed between August 2021 and August 2025. He pleaded guilty to 37 counts, with two left to lie on file. Additionally, West Midlands Police charged him with a further eight offences committed while he was on police bail for the Cheshire investigation, which were taken into account during sentencing.

As noted in a release by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), the offences for which he was sentenced included 24 counts of causing a child to engage in sexual activity—including children under the age of 13—six counts of blackmail, and three counts of making indecent photographs of a child.

During the sentencing hearing before Chester’s most senior judge, the Honorary Recorder of Chester Judge Steven Everett, prosecutor Myles Wilson read a victim personal statement detailing the lasting psychological toll.

As reported by Barrie White of the Whitchurch Herald, the victim stated: “The emotional impact hasn’t gone away and I suffer with anxiety about who may have seen them. It has affected my relationships and I find it hard to trust people – it’s had an impact on how I see people. It’s taken away my security, and no child should be seen like this by an adult.”

“We will never know how many victims fell prey to your deviant behaviour.” — Judge Steven Everett, Chester Crown Court

Judge Everett described Kazi as a sexual predator who committed terrible acts and inflicted profound psychological damage on young girls. Under the terms of the sentence, Kazi must serve a minimum of two-thirds of his 30-year custodial term before he can apply for parole, followed by eight years on extended licence. He was also made subject to a lifelong sexual harm prevention order and a lifelong restraining order.

What did police and prosecutors say following the sentencing?

Following the conclusion of the hearing on Friday, November 13, 2026, investigating officers and prosecutors highlighted both the scale of the inquiry and the resilience of the young victims who assisted the prosecution.

As reported by Radio Royal, Detective Constable Georgia Hughes of Cheshire Constabulary’s Online Child Abuse Investigation Team stated: “The scale of Kazi’s offending meant this was a truly mammoth investigation, requiring significant resources and close collaboration across the force.”

“The first time that they’ve had an impression that something was wrong here was when they had police officers knocking on their door to tell them who it is that they’re actually speaking to. It was very distressing for them, a lot of them were heartbroken. It has impacted their whole adolescence, their whole teenage years, and massively impacted their ability to trust people and engage in relationships going forward.” — Detective Constable Georgia Hughes, Cheshire Constabulary

As reported by the Chester and District Standard, Detective Constable Hughes added that Kazi had displayed arrogance and a complete lack of remorse throughout the legal proceedings, urging any other young people experiencing similar online coercion to report it to police, teachers, or trusted adults.

In a statement issued by the Crown Prosecution Service, Specialist Prosecutor Martin McRobb of the CPS Organised Child Sexual Abuse Unit noted that Kazi acted with ruthlessness in grooming, manipulating, and blackmailing young girls across the country.

Background of the Investigation

The prosecution of Bilal Kazi represents the largest single online child sexual abuse investigation ever conducted by Cheshire Constabulary. Spanning more than four years from the initial report in November 2021 to sentencing in November 2026, the inquiry required multi-agency coordination across nearly two-thirds of all territorial police forces in the United Kingdom.

Digital forensic recovery played a decisive role in building the prosecution’s case after Kazi’s arrest at Heathrow Airport in July 2023.

Because Kazi operated across multiple applications—initiating contact on gaming platforms such as Roblox before migrating conversations to encrypted or disappearing-message apps like Snapchat—officers had to trace digital footprints across devices to identify victims who were unaware that “Reece” was an adult offender.

Under the Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 1992, all 70 victims are granted lifelong anonymity.

Prediction: How This Development Will Affect Young Social Media Users, Parents, and Platforms

For young social media and gaming users, as well as parents and guardians across the United Kingdom, this case underscores the persistent risk of cross-platform grooming, where offenders initiate contact in seemingly benign gaming environments before moving conversations to private messaging apps.

Law enforcement agencies are expected to use the outcome of this prosecution to reinforce public awareness campaigns regarding “sextortion” and online impersonation, encouraging children to verify online contacts and seek help immediately if threatened.

For law enforcement and judicial authorities, the 30-year sentence with an eight-year extended licence sets a clear benchmark for multi-victim, technology-facilitated child sexual exploitation.

Furthermore, the case is likely to intensify regulatory scrutiny on social media and gaming companies under the UK’s online safety framework, particularly concerning age-verification mechanisms, cross-platform migration alerts, and proactive detection of coercive messaging patterns involving minors.