Cap. 9 ст. 208AIndecent photographs, films, etc., of persons under age.

(1) Any citizen or permanent resident of Malta whether in Malta or outside Malta, as well as any person in Malta, who makes or produces or permits to be made or produced any indecent material involving or showing persons under age or produces, distributes, disseminates, imports, exports, offers, sells, supplies, transmits, makes available, procures for oneself or for another, or shows such indecent material shall, on conviction, be liable imprisonment for a term from twelve months to five years.

(1A) The offence in sub-article (1) shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term from two to eight years, with or without solitary confinement, in each of the following cases:

(a) when the offender wilfully or recklessly endangered the life of the person under age;

(b) when the offence involves violence or grievous bodily harm on such person;

(c) when the offence is committed with the involvement of a criminal organisation within the meaning of article 83A(1).

(1B) Any person who acquires, knowingly obtains access through information and communication technologies to, or is in possession of, any indecent material which shows, depicts or represents a person under age, shall, on conviction, be liable to imprisonment for a term from not exceeding three years.

(1C) For the purposes of sub-article (1) the expression "permanent resident" shall have the same meaning assigned to it by article 5(1)(d).

(2) A photograph, film, video recording or electronic image shall, if it shows a person under age and is indecent, be treated for all purposes of this article as an indecent photograph, film, video recording or electronic image.

(3) Where the offences in sub-articles (1) and (1B) are committed by any ascendant by consanguinity or affinity, or by any one of the adoptive parents, or by the tutor, or by any other person charged, even though temporarily, with the care, education, instruction, control or custody of the person under age shown, depicted or represented in the indecent material, or where such person under age has not completed the age of nine years or where the indecent material shows, depicts or represents a minor involved in acts of bestiality, brutality, sadism or torture:

(a) in the case of the offence in sub-article (1), the punishment shall be of imprisonment for a term from two to nine years, and

(b) in the case of the offence in sub-article (1B), the punishment shall be of imprisonment for a term from six months to four years, and the provisions of article 197(4) shall also apply.

(4) Where a person is charged with distributing or showing, or with being in possession of, any indecent material under sub-article (1), it shall be a defence for him to prove that he had a legitimate reason for distributing or showing, or for having in his possession, such indecent material, or that he had not himself seen the indecent material, and neither knew nor had any reason to suspect them to be indecent.

(5) For the purposes of article 635(1)(a), the person under age shown in the indecent material shall be deemed to be the person against whom the offence is committed.

(6) In this article references to a photograph includes the negative as well as the positive version.

(7) For the purposes of this article the expression "indecent material" includes photographs, images, audio or video recordings, digitally created or electronic images, drawings, cartoons, text and simulated representations or realistic images of a minor, or any material that visually depicts any person appearing to be a child, even if the minor is non-existent, or of the sexual parts of a child for primarily sexual purposes.