Cyber flasher jailed for 66 weeks in legal first
The first person to be convicted of a cyber flashing offence has been jailed for 66 weeks after a judge warned him she had a “duty to protect” victims.
Nicholas Hawkes was sentenced at Southend Crown Court after sending unsolicited explicit photos to a 15-year-old and a woman.
The 39-year-old, from Basildon, Essex, sent the pair pictures of his genitals on Feb 9 2024, the court heard.
Cyber flashing refers to the sending of an unsolicited sexual image to people via social media, dating apps, text message or data sharing services such as Bluetooth and Airdrop.
It became an offence in England and Wales on Jan 31 2024 as part of the Online Safety Act.
Sentencing him on Tuesday, Judge Samantha Leigh said Hawkes was clearly a “deeply disturbed” individual.
She added: “There is only one sentence for this set of offending, it clearly crosses the custody threshold.”
Speaking after the sentencing hearing, Hannah von Dadelszen, deputy chief crown prosecutor, said: “Cyber flashing is a serious crime which leaves a lasting impact on victims, but all too often it can be dismissed as thoughtless ‘banter’ or a harmless joke.”
Disgusting pictures
She added: “Using the new legislation, our prosecutors worked to deliver swift justice, securing a guilty plea just four days after Nicholas Hawkes sent disgusting photos to his victims.”
The court heard that on the evening of Feb 9, Hawkes, who was already a registered sex offender, asked to use his father’s phone to call his probation officer. He went into another room, where he sent the indecent photo via WhatsApp to a woman in her 60s.
Minutes later, on the same device, he sent an explicit image via iMessage to the child, who was said to have been left “overwhelmed and crying”.
David Barr, prosecuting, said the offences were “part of an established pattern of behaviour of the defendant”.
The court heard Hawkes was convicted of sexual activity with a child under 16 and exposure in 2023.
His offences had been exclusively sexual in nature and started after he was kidnapped, stabbed and held at ransom for £5,000 eight years ago.
On May 12 2023, Hawkes went to Long Riding Surgery in Basildon, Essex, where he stripped naked. He then rubbed hand sanitiser on his genitals and walked around the foyer for five minutes.
Then on July 23 2024, he approached a group of young people in Mopsies Park, Basildon, wearing only his trainers and engaged in a “sexual conversation” with the victims and “kissed one girl and hugged another”.
Hawkes was spared jail for those incidents, blaming them on his post-traumatic stress disorder and heavy cocaine use. He denied a sexual attraction to children.
Crimes committed to ‘create chaos’
On Tuesday, Barry Gilbert, defending, insisted Hawkes did not receive sexual gratification from his offending but “does it to create chaos when he’s under personal pressure”.
Alex Chalk, the Justice Secretary, said: “Cyber flashing is a degrading and distressing crime which cannot be tolerated or normalised.
“We’ve changed the law so those who perpetrate these vile acts face time behind bars, and today’s sentence sends an unequivocal message that such behaviour will have severe consequences.”
Hawkes admitted two counts of sending a photograph or film of genitals to cause alarm, distress, or humiliation.
After he has served his sentence, Hawkes must comply with a 10-year restraining order and will be subject to a 15-year sexual harm prevention order.
