Post by Handyman on Mar 19, 2024 14:18:58 GMT
The first person in England to be convicted of a cyberflashing offence has been jailed for 66 weeks.
Nicholas Hawkes was convicted under the Online Safety Act after cyberflashing became an offence in England and Wales on 31 January this year.
The 39-year-old, from Basildon, Essex, was already a convicted sex offender when he sent unsolicited images of his genitals to a 15-year-old girl and a woman on 9 February, the Crown Prosecution Service said
The woman took screenshots of the photograph on WhatsApp and reported him to Essex police the same day.
Hawkes admitted during an earlier hearing at Southend magistrates court to two counts of sending a photograph or film of his genitals to cause alarm, distress or humiliation. He was jailed at Southend crown court on Tuesday.
Cyberflashing 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.
Hawkes was on the sex offenders register after being convicted last year of sexual activity with a child under 16 and exposure, for which he received a community order.
On Tuesday, he pleaded guilty to breaching the order and breaching a suspended sentence for another sexual offence.
Nicholas Hawkes was convicted under the Online Safety Act after cyberflashing became an offence in England and Wales on 31 January this year.
The 39-year-old, from Basildon, Essex, was already a convicted sex offender when he sent unsolicited images of his genitals to a 15-year-old girl and a woman on 9 February, the Crown Prosecution Service said
The woman took screenshots of the photograph on WhatsApp and reported him to Essex police the same day.
Hawkes admitted during an earlier hearing at Southend magistrates court to two counts of sending a photograph or film of his genitals to cause alarm, distress or humiliation. He was jailed at Southend crown court on Tuesday.
Cyberflashing 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.
Hawkes was on the sex offenders register after being convicted last year of sexual activity with a child under 16 and exposure, for which he received a community order.
On Tuesday, he pleaded guilty to breaching the order and breaching a suspended sentence for another sexual offence.