Essex man, 39, jailed for cyber-flashing in first of its kind case in England and Wales

ITV News Meridian's Tony Green reports from Southend-on-sea.

A registered sex offender from Basildon has become the first person in England and Wales to be jailed for cyber-flashing, which became an offence in January this year.

Nicholas Hawkes was sentenced to 66 weeks behind bars at Southend Crown Court for sending unsolicited explicit photos to a 15-year-old girl and a woman.

Nicholas Hawkes, 39, sent photos of his genitals to the girl and woman on 9 February.

The woman took screenshots of the image on WhatsApp and reported Hawkes to Essex Police the same day.

The case was passed to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and at a remand hearing at Southend Magistrates’ Court on Monday 12 February, Hawkes pleaded guilty to two counts of sending a photograph or film of genitals to cause alarm, distress, or humiliation.

Cyber-flashing can involve offenders sending people an unsolicited sexual image on social media, dating apps, Bluetooth or Airdrop.

Victims of the offence and other image-based abuses receive lifelong anonymity under the Sexual Offences Act from the point they report it.

Hawkes was already on the sex offenders register until November 2033 after last year being convicted of sexual activity with a child under 16 years old and exposure, for which he also received a community order.

Today, he pleaded guilty to breaching the order and breaching a suspended sentence for another sexual offence.

The CPS has 4 cases of Cyber-flashing, including Hawkes', on its books at the moment.

Today's conviction, it says, shows that it takes reports of this nature seriously and will prosecute offenders.

Hannah von Dadelszen, Deputy Chief Crown Prosecutor for the CPS in the East of England, told ITV News this sort of behaviour is 'serious' and not a joke. She said: “The CPS has in total 4 cases, including this case, on its books at the moment and that is a national picture.

“I hope that the good outcome in this case will encourage more victims to come forward, and encourage them that their complaints will be taken seriously.

“I think there's a perception that this type of behaviour is a joke and that it is not serious, but this sends a very clear signal that it will be dealt with in the criminal justice system.”

Watch: Hannah von Dadelszen speaks to ITV News about Hawkes' sentencing.

Detective Chief Inspector James Gray from Essex Police said: “This result proves that we are able to thoroughly investigate all sexual offences, including those which have only recently been criminalised.

“Hawkes has proven himself to be a dangerous individual, and our Crime and Public Protection Team have put hours of work into ensuring he is taken off the streets.

“Perpetrators may think that by offending online, they are less likely to be caught, however that is not the case. ‘Cyber-flashing’ has a detrimental impact on victims, and we will continue to investigate all reports of this offence.

“My main message here is to the perpetrators, people who think it’s acceptable to send these unsolicited photos without permission. It’s not, and I ask those who think it is acceptable to reflect on their behaviour.”

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