Violinist sent hundreds of nude images to women

A successful violinist who sent lewd images of himself to two women he had never met has been given a 12-month suspended prison sentence.

Ben Gunnery, who has toured the world throughout his career, targeted his victims in November, four months after being found guilty of sending the same explicit content to another woman.

Gunnery found the women online and within days was sending them unsolicited images of his genitals.

This story contains details of sexual harassment some may find upsetting.

Gunnery, from Vauxhall, London, previously admitted sending images of his genitals to the two women with the intention of causing distress or humiliation.

The content sent to them included photos of his erect penis and videos of him masturbating.

At Bromley Magistrates' Court on Monday, Gunnery's defence said his offences were committed when he was taking drugs, and he felt shame and embarrassment over his behaviour.

"He's seen a complete devastation of his career. He can't get work, his reputation is damaged. He's on benefits," it said.

Addressing Gunnery, Judge Vanessa Lloyd said: "They're deliberate acts. It's not the drugs speaking, they bring out something in you."

"I don't believe you were under the influence on every occasion. It's you that's doing this, and this isn't the first time.

"You comply with rehabilitation but it doesn't change your behaviour."

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said Gunnery's actions were "clearly deliberate".

"This hasn't just happened once, he continues to do it," it said.

Gunnery was given a 12-month sentence, suspended for two years. If he re-offends, he will go to prison and serve half with the rest on licence.

Remaining on the sex offender's register, he was given a 10-year notification requirement and five-year sexual harm prevention order.

He will not be allowed to have more than one mobile phone and internet device. He was also ordered to complete drug and alcohol rehabilitation.

"Breaching any of the orders is a one-way ticket to immediate imprisonment. It's up to you," Lloyd added.

Prosecutor Adrita Ahmed said Gunnery's actions have had a significant impact on his victims.

"Their sense of safety was violated by the sexual images Gunnery sent which were not asked for, not welcome and not harmless," she added.

The 46-year-old's offending was first revealed when Anna Downes from Worcestershire contacted the BBC after he sent her the pictures.

But months after being given a community order, he was doing it again.

We are calling one of the victims Kate, a female musician from Glasgow, who had also never met Gunnery.

He approached her online to buy music from her, but then sent her a photograph and two videos in November 2025.

Kate contacted police after seeing Anna's story.

"[Seeing] the sheer scale of what he had done – that's what made me take action," she said.

'I could barely eat or sleep'

In her victim impact statement, Kate described feeling traumatised.

"I barely slept, I couldn't keep food down, and I was under so much stress that I lost work, I had PTSD flashbacks from previous trauma as a child where trust was broken by men, and I felt completely humiliated."

She described what he did as "wholly inappropriate, unacceptable, illegal, invasive, unwanted, unprompted and a complete abuse of power as a male musician towards a female musician."

"[It] has left me in complete disbelief that this type of behaviour is still allowed to continue in 2025," she told the court.

Gunnery was given a two-year restraining order in relation to Kate.

For the offences committed against her, Gunnery was given a six-month suspended sentence with drug and alcohol rehabilitation requirements.

Kate's husband is also a musician, and told the BBC that he was outraged by Gunnery's behaviour.

Kate told the court she is having therapy, and feels on edge if men approach her and does not feel safe when she's performing on stage.

Downes, who waived her right to anonymity, said cyberflashing needed to be taken more seriously and she had felt forced to investigate the crime herself.

"I was just stunned and felt horrified and violated," she said last year.

"I had quite a long period of time where I would struggle to get to sleep at night and every time I shut my eyes, I would be faced with these images again."

Det Insp KP Pender praised the courage of Gunnery's victims 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," he added.

Gunnery performed music for films and toured the world, and until he was arrested for the offences in 2025, was teaching children and adults despite being on the Sex Offender's Register.

Cyberflashing is when offenders send unsolicited explicit images to people via an online platform, such as messaging applications and social media.

It can also be done by sending content using data-sharing tools like Bluetooth or Airdrop.

It became a crime in the UK on 31 January 2024, and carries a maximum sentence of two years in prison.

New research led by Prof Clare McGlynn of Durham University and Prof Fiona Vera-Gray from London Metropolitan University found women were almost three times more likely to experience cyberflashing than men.

Twenty-three per cent of women have experienced cyberflashing in their lifetime, compared to 8% of men.

It is also alarmingly common in the lives of younger women - 45% of women aged 18 to 24 report this experience, compared to 15% of men in the same age range.

The data also showed that sexual exposure is causing extensive freedom-based harms, limiting women's ability to participate freely in both physical and digital spaces, reducing independence, and physical and mental wellbeing among other things.

It also found that many people change their behaviour to stay safe - 37% of women avoid interacting with strangers online compared to 14% of men; and 26% of women restrict access to their online activity, while 11% of men take this step.

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