Musician sentenced for cyberflashing

A musician and registered sex offender who sent over 200 unsolicited pornographic images and videos of himself has been sentenced.

Ben Gunnery, 46, was prosecuted by the Crown Prosecution Service following an investigation by the Metropolitan Police Service.

Adrita Ahmed, District Crown Prosecutor for CPS London South, said: “Cyberflashing is a serious offence and Ben Gunnery’s actions have had a significant impact on the victims. Their sense of safety was violated by the sexual images Gunnery sent which were not asked for, not welcome and not harmless. 

"We acted swiftly in this case, charging the defendant hours after we received the file from police.”

Siobhan Blake, Crown Prosecution Service National Lead for Rape and Serious Sexual Offences, said: “Every person deserves to be free from sexual abuse, including when it comes to using technology.

“Today, our people have once again proven that perpetrators of this type of abuse will not be tolerated, and offenders will be held to account.

“CPS prosecutors work tirelessly, day in, day out, to tackle violence against women and girls in all its forms – from violent offending to intimate image abuse – and we will continue to do everything we can to bring more men like Gunnery to justice.”

Today, Bromley Magistrates’ Court sentenced Gunnery to 12-months imprisonment, suspended for two years. He was also given a five-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order, drug and alcohol rehabilitation requirements, a two-year restraining order in relation to one of the victims, and is to remain on the sex offenders register and be subject to notification requirements for ten years.

The court heard that Gunnery sent unsolicited indecent photos and videos of himself to two victims.

On 15 November 2025, Gunnery sent a woman an unsolicited sexually explicit video of himself. She reported the offence to police the next day.

A subsequent investigation found that between June and October 2025, Gunnery had also sent 200 videos and images to a different woman he did not know personally. She had told him they were unwanted and to stop sending them.

The case was passed to the CPS out-of-hours service CPS Direct for a charging decision on 19 November 2025, who authorised police to charge him with two counts of sending photographs of genitals to cause alarm, distress and humiliation hours later. 

He was convicted after pleading guilty at his first hearing on 20 November 2025.

Gunnery was a registered sex offender who has been convicted of similar offences in 2023 and July 2025 and was subject to notification requirements during the offending period. 

Due to the nature of his offending, the prosecution applied to the court for a restraining order and Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) to be made to further restrict his behaviour.

Detective Inspector Pender, who led the Metropolitan Police’s investigation, said: “Gunnery carried out a sustained and deeply intrusive pattern of offending that caused significant distress to his victims. His actions were deliberate, harmful, and completely unacceptable. I hope today’s sentencing sends a clear message that cyberflashing is a serious offence and will be treated as such.

“I also want to commend the victims for their courage in coming forward. Their willingness to report what happened, and to support the investigation, has been vital in bringing Gunnery to justice for these disgraceful crimes.

“In the past five years, we have trained 250 specialist investigators to strengthen our ability to identify and secure digital evidence in cases of digital stalking, intimate image abuse, and cyberflashing. This growing expertise is enabling stronger Met investigations and improving the protection we provide to women and girls.”