Before 2000, anal sex was a criminal offense referred to as the crime of buggery under the British Virgin Islands Criminal Code. However, sexual acts between two consenting adult males in private were expressly decriminalized by an Order in Council in the British Virgin Islands (and other British Caribbean territories) by the British Government pursuant to the Caribbean Territories (Criminal Law) Order, 2000 Sections 3(1) and 3(7). According to section 4 of the order, the law was passed retrospectively. There are two exceptions to the law: group sex, or sex in public, remains a criminal offense and may also lead to a charge under gross indecency between men and other minor sexual offense laws.