Nicholas Hawkes: first person to be convicted of cyber-flashing in England and Wales sentenced to 66 weeks in prison

The first person to be convicted of cyber-flashing offences in England and Wales has been sentenced to 66 weeks behind bars.

Nicholas Hawkes, 39 from Basildon in Essex, was convicted under the newly-introduced Online Safety Act. It comes after he sent unsolicited images of his erect penis to a 15-year-old girl and another woman on February 9.

According to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), the woman took screenshots of the image, which she received via WhatsApp, and reported them to police the same day. Hawkes admitted to two counts of sending a photograph or film of genitals to cause alarm, distress, or humiliation during a hearing at Southend Magistrates' Court.

Hawkes was already a registered sex offender after he was convicted in 2023 of sexual activity with a child under 16-years-old and exposure, for which he received a community order. During the sentencing hearing on Tuesday (March 19), he admitted to breaching this order, and another suspended sentence for a separate sexual offence. His 66-week sentence included punishment for these breaches.

Cyber-flashing became a criminal offence in England and Wales on January 31, covering the sending of unsolicited sexual images to people through social media or other means of online communications including text messages, dating apps and data sharing services such as Bluetooth and AirDrop. It has been an offence in Scotland since 2010.

As with other sexual crimes, the victims of cyber-flashing are granted lifelong anonymity from the moment they report the crime. This is because the offence also falls under the Sexual Offences Act.