Man, 39, who sent nude photos of himself to 15-year-old girl and woman becomes first person in Britain to be convicted of ‘cyber flashing’
A MAN who sent nude photos of himself to a girl AND a woman has become the first person in Britain to be convicted of “cyberflashing”.
Nicholas Hawkes, 39, was already one convicted sex offender when he sent unsolicited images to his victims, including a 15-year-old schoolgirl.
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Pervert Hawkes carried out the disgusting acts on February 9 this year – less than a month later cyber flashing became an offense on January 31.
The woman, who was in her 60s, took screenshots of the photo on WhatsApp and reported Hawkes to Essex Police the same day.
Zuideinde Crown Court heard on Tuesday that Hawkes had asked to use his father’s phone to call his probation officer that evening.
He then went to another room where he sent the indecent photo WhatsApp on the mobile.
A few minutes later, he sent an explicit image to the child via iMessage on the same device, reportedly leaving him “overwhelmed and crying.”
Hawkes was previously convicted of sexual activity with a child under 16 and exposure.
PersecutionDavid Barr said the offenses were “part of an established pattern of behavior by the suspect”.
The court found that Hawkes’ offending was solely sexual in nature and began after he was kidnapped, stabbed and held for a £5,000 ransom demanded from his father when he was 31 years old.
Barry Gilbert, defending, argued Hawkes gets no sexual gratification from his offending.
Mr Gilbert claimed Hawkes instead “does it to create chaos when he is under personal pressure” as a result of his PTSD after the attack.
However, Judge Samantha Leigh rejected the argument that he was not receiving sexual gratification.
She said: ‘You are clearly deeply disturbed and have a distorted view of yourself and your sexual desires.
“There is a duty I have, a duty to protect. There is only one penalty for this series of offences: it clearly exceeds the threshold for custody.”
What is cyber flashing?
Cyber flashing is receiving unsolicited sexual images from someone over the telephone.
However, it can get a lot more complicated than the already intrusive nudity on Snapchat.
AirDrop, the iPhone feature, is being used by strangers to send nude photos of themselves to people near them in busy public spaces.
It’s usually done anonymously, because the only thing you can see when you receive an image (which isn’t censored when the preview appears) is the name of the iPhone, and it can be personalized by the user to literally anything.
Hawkes admitted at an earlier hearing at Southend Magistrates’ Court to two counts of sending a photo or film of genitals to cause alarm, fear or humiliation.
On Tuesday he pleaded guilty to breaching his previous order and breaching a suspended sentence for another sex offence.
He was sentenced to 66 weeks for his recent offenses and will have to serve half of that behind bars before being released on licence.
Hawkes was given a 10-year restraining order against both women.
He is also not allowed to approach women he does not know on public roads and in parks for fifteen years.
Cyber flashes This may involve offenders who send people an unsolicited sexual image on social media, dating apps, Bluetooth or Airdrop.
Victims of the crime and other image abuse enjoy lifelong anonymity under the Sexual Offenses Act from the moment they report it.