A 39-year-old man has become the first person in England and Wales to be found guilty of internet flashing. The man, an Essex resident, was convicted under the Online Safety Act of sending unsolicited photos of his exposed male genitalia to a teenage girl and a woman.
The conviction
Nicholas Hawkes was detained after police received screenshots of his unsolicited images. According to media accounts, the woman took pictures of the WhatsApp image and submitted them to Essex police.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) confirmed that the photos were provided on February 9th, and a complaint was filed on the same day.
Hawkes had also emailed photographs of his genitalia to a 15-year-old girl.
On Monday, he pleaded guilty to two charges of mailing a photograph or film of genitals with the intent to cause alarm, distress, or humiliation.
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He was convicted at the court and has been remanded into custody. He is scheduled to be sentenced at Basildon Crown Court on March 11.
According to sources, Hawkes was already a registered sex offender and will remain such until November 2033. Last year, he was found guilty of sexual activity with a kid child under 16 and exposure at Basildon Crown Court.
What is cyber flashing?
In an interview with the press, Sefer Mani of CPS East of England described cyber flashing as a “grotesque crime”. He went on to say that the “fact we were able to deliver swift justice for the two victims shows the new law is working.”
“Everyone should feel safe wherever they are and not be subjected to receiving unwanted sexual images,” Mani went on to say.
The CPS officer also encouraged victims of cyber flashing to come forward and report the incident to the authorities.
“I urge anyone who feels they have been a victim of cyber flashing to report it to the police and know that they will be taken seriously and have their identities protected,” he said.
According to The Standard, cyber flashing is a type of digital harassment or sexual misconduct in which people share unsolicited photographs or films of their genitalia or other personal body parts. This is done electronically using text, emails, messaging applications, social media, or even the airdrop feature on smartphones.
One of the most notable aspects of such messages is the lack of recipient consent. It can be upsetting and stressful for people on the receiving end, and sexually explicit photos can be emotionally damaging. It is an invasion of privacy.
The UK’s Online Safety Act
In January 2024, the United Kingdom passed the Online Safety Act, which includes a range of online crimes, including cyber flashing.
Beginning January 31st, cyber flashing became a criminal offense in England and Wales. According to SkyNews, it has been a crime in Scotland since 2010.
According to the UK Government’s website, people found guilty of sharing an intimate image can face up to 6 months or 2 years in prison “if it is proven that the perpetrator also intended to cause distress, alarm, or humiliation, or shared the image to obtain sexual gratification.”
In addition, “cyber-flashing” “on dating apps, AirDrop and other platforms will also result in perpetrators facing up to two years behind bars where it is done to gain sexual gratification or to cause alarm, distress, or humiliation.”
According to the statute, victims of cyber flashing and image-based abuse are automatically granted everlasting anonymity from the point they report the offense.
Global legislation on cyber-flashing includes the Crimes Amendment (Intimate Images) Bill 2017 in New South Wales, Australia, implemented in May 2017. “Intentionally recording or distributing, or threatening to record or distribute, an intimate image of a person without their consent” is a crime under the law.
This regulation also addresses cyber flashing by prohibiting the non-consensual distribution of personal photos.
Since May 2019, Singapore has made sending unsolicited intimate photographs, also known as “cyber flashing,” a serious felony. Anyone found guilty of the offense faces a prison sentence of up to two years. Furthermore, the rule makes upskirt photos punishable by up to two years in prison, or five years if they are shared online.
Upskirting is the act
Upskirting is the act of taking a photograph or film below someone’s garments without their knowledge. This is commonly used to capture photographs of a person’s genitals, buttocks, or underpants.
Since 2019, it has been a criminal offense in England and Wales.
While cyber flashing is not directly included in India’s Information Technology Act of 2000, publishing or transmitting pornographic content in electronic form is illegal. This rule covers the internet flashing of genitalia and other similarly obscene or unpleasant content.