Nicholas Hawkes, 39, was sentenced to 66 weeks in prison for sending unsolicited photos of his genitals to a girl and a woman, the first person in England and Wales convicted of violating the Online Safety Act, which criminalizes “cyberflashing.” The first person to be sentenced for sharing unsolicited explicit photos of his genitals in England and Wales is a 39-year-old man from Essex, England.
Hawkes, who was already a convicted sex offender, was charged within days of the complaint, and on Feb. 12, he pleaded guilty to two counts of sending a photograph or film of genitals to cause alarm, distress or humiliation, the CPS said. Hawkes was already on the sex offender register until November 2033 after a conviction last year on charges of sexual activity with a child under 16 and exposure.
California’s 2022 Forbid Lewd Activity and Sexual Harassment Act, or FLASH Act, would allow users who receive “unsolicited” and “obscene” material electronically to seek up to $30,000 in civil damages from the sender, The Washington Post