Sexual Offences Act, child pornography offence
Sexual Offences Act, Ch. 99, Laws of The Bahamas, s. 16A (child pornography)
A citation is an address, not a summary. The first part names the law; what follows narrows it to the exact section, article or paragraph.
In force.
An AI prohibited practices rule binding public and private bodies.
As of 7 September 2026.
What it requires
- Do not produce, receive, disseminate or possess any visual representation, including a computer-generated one, that shows a person who is, or is depicted as being, under eighteen years old engaged in explicit sexual activity, or whose dominant characteristic is the depiction of a sexual organ or the buttocks of a person under eighteen.
If you get it wrong
Criminal exposureYes
Criminal exposure note
Producing child pornography is liable to imprisonment for life (section 16A(1)). Receiving or disseminating for distribution or sale, possessing, or intentionally causing or inciting a person under eighteen to be involved in pornography, is liable to imprisonment for twenty years (section 16A(2)). No fine is specified for either tier; the Act's only stated sanction is imprisonment.
Who enforces it
Enforcement body
Royal Bahamas Police Force, prosecuted by the Attorney-General
What it reaches
Obligation class
Prohibition
What this law does
Drafted with AI from the cited sources under the direction of UnGovr staff. UnGovr holds editorial responsibility for this page.
Section 16A criminalises producing any child pornography, an offence liable to imprisonment for life, and separately criminalises receiving, disseminating or possessing child pornography, or intentionally causing or inciting a person under eighteen to be involved in pornography, each liable to imprisonment for twenty years.
Child pornography is defined as a photographic, film, video or other visual representation, whether or not it was made or transmitted by electronic or mechanical means, that shows a person who is, or is depicted as being, under eighteen engaged in explicit sexual activity, or whose dominant characteristic is the depiction of a sexual organ or the buttocks of a person under eighteen; the definition does not require the depicted person to be a real, identifiable individual, so a computer-generated or AI-synthesised depiction meeting it is capable of falling within the ban.
Section 16A was inserted by the Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act, 2008 (No. 29 of 2008); the specific commencement date of that amending Act is not stated in the consolidated text read.
When LexLint raises it
generates_contentpublishes_adult_content
Read the law
Sexual Offences Act, Chapter 99, Statute Law of The Bahamas