A serial online groomer has been sent to prison for exploiting and coercing a number of children online to commit sexual acts.

Bilal Kazi, 27, of Birmingham, has been sentenced at Chester Crown Court after pleading guilty to a series of child sexual abuse offences committed online. He was sentenced to 30 years in prison, with an extended licence period of eight years.

Kazi pretended to be a teenage boy on social media and gaming platforms. He built trust with girls aged between 10 and 15, then manipulated them into sending him sexual images and videos of themselves.

When girls refused to send more, he blackmailed them by threatening to share the images. In one case, he posted a video online that was viewed by 93 people.

Police found more than 400 indecent images and videos on his phone from the Cheshire investigation. A further 500 plus images and videos were found on his devices in Birmingham, many of them 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 these offences. He was caught after one girl's mother found his messages on her daughter's phone and reported them to the police.

Martin McRobb, Specialist Prosecutor at the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “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 then blackmailed those who refused to comply with his further demands, threatening to post the explicit imagery to others.

“He posed as a teenage boy in order to attract and gain the trust of his victims and caused many to think that 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.

“The Organised Child Sexual Abuse Unit of the CPS presented to the court the overwhelming evidence gathered by police investigators in Cheshire and the West Midlands.

“The CPS will continue to work tirelessly with our law enforcement partners to pursue perpetrators of child sexual abuse and secure justice for victims, no matter how many years have passed."

Kazi was also given a Sexual Harm Prevention Order and a Restraining Order.

If you are worried about a child, or if a child has shared images of themselves online, help is available. Children can use Report Remove from Childline and the Internet Watch Foundation to get nude or sexual images taken down. Parents and carers can find advice from the NSPCC. If a child is in immediate danger, call 999.