A 29-year-old Australian man, posing as a famous YouTuber, has been convicted of blackmailing hundreds of girls online in “one of the most severe sextortion cases in the history of Australia.”

Muhammad Zain Ul Abideen Rasheed was sentenced to 17 years in jail by the Perth District Court on Tuesday after he pleaded guilty to 119 charges in December 2023.

Rasheed manipulated over 250 victims around the globe into performing explicit acts on camera. Two-thirds of his victims were aged under 16.

“The callous disregard this man had for his victims around the world and their distress, humiliation and fear make it one of the most horrific sextortion cases prosecuted in Australia,” said Australian Federal Police Assistant Commissioner David McLean. 

When announcing the sentence on Tuesday, Judge Amanda Burrows said Rasheed’s offence was of such magnitude there was “no comparable case” in the country, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).

Rasheed pretended to be a 15-year-old American internet star and would try to strike up conversations with his victims through social media. He used to contact young females with visible friend lists on social media, befriend them into trust, and then manipulate them into providing explicit content.

Once the victims share their sexual fantasies with Rasheed, he would start blackmailing them into leaking their chats to friends and family, in return for increasingly sexual and degrading videos.

The Western Australia Joint Anti-Child Exploitation Team (WA JACET) first launched an investigation into Rasheed’s activities in September 2019.

With a series of international investigations by AFP, Commonwealth and WA JACET, it was established that Rasheed had also been involved in misogynistic “incel” communities online. He would connect with other child sex offenders online, exchanging strategies and sharing details of children who were vulnerable to blackmail and abuse.

Sometimes, Rasheed forced his victims to perform sexual acts live with their pets or other children at home, with one instance being viewed by nearly 100 other people online. 

Many of the children being extorted told him they were suicidal – one even sent images of self-harm. But Rasheed continued his blackmail despite their “obvious distress” and “extreme fear”, the judge said, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). One of the victims, a Canadian girl, reported to the police that she was 13 years old.

Rasheed is already serving a five-year sentence for sexually assaulting a 14-year-old in his car in a Perth park.

He will be eligible to petition for parole in August 2033.

(With inputs from agencies)