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A convicted paedophile 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, 39, of Basildon, Essex, also sent unsolicited photos to a woman.
The woman took screenshots of the WhatsApp image sent on 9 February and reported it to police the same day.
Hawkes, who admitted two charges, has been jailed for just over 15 months.
The offence was brought in under the Online Safety Act and came into effect on 31 January. It has been an offence in Scotland, which has a separate legal system, for more than a decade.
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. That registration ran until November 2033.
He has now been sentenced to 66 weeks in jail for two offences of sending a photograph or film of genitals to cause alarm, distress, or humiliation, and for breaching previous court orders.
Hawkes must comply with a 10-year restraining order and will be subject to a 15-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order.
Awesome! I hope the US adopts these laws and we send creeps to JAIL where they belong. I deleted my social media cuz I was sick of getting unsolicited dick pics. It’ll make online much safer.