WhatsApp Flasher Jailed.

A man who sent a picture of his erect penis to a 15 year old girl has become the first person to be jailed for cyber-flashing in England and Wales.

Registered sex offender Nicholas Hawkes also sent photos to a woman. The woman took screenshots of the WhatsApp image that was sent on 09th February and reported it to the Police on the same day.

Hawkes admitted two charges and has been jailed for just over 15 months. The offence was brought in under the Online Safety Act which came into effect earlier this year. However, it has been an offence in Scotland for over a decade.

Judge Samantha Leigh, passing sentence at Southend Crown Court, said that Hawkes was "disturbed" with a "warped view of himself and his sexuality".

Cyber flashing is an act that typically involves an offender sending unsolicited explicit images to people online, through messaging platforms like WhatsApp and Instagram.

Mr Hawkes was already a registered sex offender after he was given a community order last year for exposure and sexual activity with a child under 16, this registration will run until 2033. He has now been sentenced to 66 weeks for two offences of sending a ohoto or film of genitals to cause alarm, distress, or humiliation, and for breaching previous Court orders.

Hawkes is now subject to a 10-year restraining order and a 15-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order which may limit what types of devices he can have, and what access these devices have to the internet and social media.

Detective Chief Inspector James Gray, Essex Police, said that Mr Hawkes has "proven himself to be a dangerous individual. Perpertrators may think that by offending online they are less likely to be caught, however that is not the case".

Hannah von Dadelszen, Deputy Chief Crown Prosecutor for the East of England, praised the speed of the justice served, saying the new legislation was a 'really important tool for a prosecutor'. "It gices the prosecution another string to its bow in terms of offending in the digital space" she added.

The issues around cyber-flashing was explored in a documentary with Emily Atack, in it she shared her experience with cyber-flashing and online harrassment. She received thousands of unsolicited images online.

As new legislation there is no statistic yet on how effective it is, or can be, but there isn't mucg it can do in the way of stopping people from sending this type of image. They will also have to look at the context and content of these messages which may dissuade people from reporting this type of behaviour.

On some apps, such as Grindr, anyone can message you and send photos. In this instance, someone may argue that being on a 'hook-up app' means that you expect to receive this type of interaction. There is a feature on the app that allows you to report a person and block but when we tested this system most users were not removed from the app.

This type of crime will require a lot of investment from Police forces, into equipment, training and victim support. Having said that, it is a step in the right direction, and may have people double-thinking their actions.

Professor Clare McGlynn, author of Cyber-Flashing: Recognising Harms, Reforming Laws, said that she fears that loopholes remain in the law, and that it is a high threshold for prosecutors to prove if a defendant intended to cause alarm, distress or humiliation.

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