Lawmakers in Antigua and Barbuda have greenlit landmark amendments to the country’s sexual offences legislation, with Attorney General Sir Steadroy Benjamin spearheading a new policy proposal that would require advance public alerts to communities before convicted sexual predators are released from prison.
During parliamentary debate on the Sexual Offences (Amendment) Bill 2026 — a piece of legislation focused on toughening punishments for a range of sexual violence offences, especially those committed against child victims — Benjamin outlined his vision for greater transparency around the reintegration of convicted sex offenders. The attorney general told lawmakers he firmly backs a mandate that would send formal notifications to local communities a full 14 days before an offender returns to residential areas after completing their custodial sentence.
“We are going to make it a policy that two weeks before he’s released, we send notification to the community,” Benjamin stated during his address to parliament. “Beware, the predator is coming.”
The attorney general emphasized that local residents, and parents in particular, have a right to critical public safety information when a person convicted of a sexual offence is set to move back into their neighborhood. He pushed back against the status quo, where information about released sexual offenders is generally only available to members of the public who initiate a formal request by visiting a local police station in person.
“We are of the very firm opinion that once you’ve committed a crime, you have served your time, you come back into the community, they must know,” Benjamin added.
In addition to introducing the community notification framework, the 2026 amendment bill broadens and increases legal penalties for multiple types of sexual offences. Following the conclusion of debate, the House of Representatives passed the bill unchanged, bringing the new regulatory and public safety measures into effect. The policy shift marks a major change to how authorities engage with communities around offender reintegration, prioritizing proactive public transparency over reactive information access.