Georgia Sex Crimes Defense Lawyers

Georgia law provides that a person commits the offense of rape when he has carnal knowledge of a female forcibly and against her will or with a female who is less than ten years of age. Carnal knowledge in rape occurs when there is any penetration of the female sex organ by the male sex organ. The fact that the person allegedly raped is the wife of the defendant shall not be a defense to a charge of rape.

A person convicted of the offense of rape shall be punished by death, by imprisonment for life without parole, by imprisonment for life, or by a split sentence that is a term of imprisonment for not less than 25 years and not exceeding life imprisonment, followed by probation for life.

Child molestation; aggravated child molestation

Georgia law provides that a person commits the offense of child molestation when he or she does any immoral or indecent act to or in the presence of or with any child under the age of 16 years with the intent to arouse or satisfy the sexual desires of either the child or the person. A person commits the offense of aggravated child molestation when such person commits an offense of child molestation which act physically injures the child or involves an act of sodomy.

A child molestation conviction carries a sentence of 5 to 25 years for a first offense and 10 years to life for subsequent convictions. A person convicted of aggravated child molestation will receive a sentence of 25 years to life. If the victim is at least fourteen but less than sixteen, and the person convicted of child molestation is less than eighteen years of age, then the punishment shall be a misdemeanor offense.

Enticing a child for indecent purposes

Georgia law provides that a person commits the offense of enticing a child for indecent purposes when he or she solicits, entices, or takes any child under the age of 16 years to any place whatsoever for the purpose of child molestation or indecent acts.

A person convicted of the offense of enticing a child for indecent purposes shall be punished by imprisonment for not less than 10 nor more than 30 years.

If the victim is at least 14 but less than 16 years of age and the person convicted of enticing a child for indecent purposes is 18 years of age or younger and is no more than four years older than the victim, such person shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.

Sexual exploitation of children

Georgia law provides that it is unlawful for any person knowingly to employ, use, persuade, induce, entice, or coerce any minor to engage in or assist any other person to engage in any sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing any visual medium depicting such conduct.

It is also unlawful for any parent, legal guardian, or person having custody or control of a minor knowingly to permit the minor to engage in or to assist any other person to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing any visual medium depicting such conduct.

It is also unlawful for any person knowingly to create, reproduce, publish, promote, sell, distribute, give, exhibit, or possess with intent to sell or distribute any visual medium which depicts a minor or a portion of a minor's body engaged in any sexually explicit conduct.

It is also unlawful for any person knowingly to bring or cause to be brought into this state any material which depicts a minor or a portion of a minor's body engaged in any sexually explicit conduct.

Finally, this statute provides that it is unlawful for any person knowingly to possess or control any material which depicts a minor or a portion of a minor's body engaged in any sexually explicit conduct.

A person who, in the course of processing or producing visual or printed matter either privately or commercially, has reasonable cause to believe that the visual or printed matter submitted for processing or producing depicts a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct shall immediately report such incident, or cause a report to be made, to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation or the law enforcement agency for the county in which such matter is submitted.

Georgia law provides that any person who violates a provision of this Code section shall be guilty of a felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by imprisonment for not less than 5 nor more than 20 years and by a fine of not more than $100,000.00. In the event, however, that the person convicted is a member of the immediate family of the victim, no fine shall be imposed.

Computer Pornography and Child Exploitation Prevention Act

Georgia law provides that a person commits the offense of computer pornography if such person intentionally or willfully:

1. compiles, enters into, or transmits by means of computer;
2. makes, prints, publishes, or reproduces by other computerized means;
3. causes or allows to be entered into or transmitted by means of computer; or
4. buys, sells, receives, exchanges, or disseminates any notice, statement, or advertisement, or any child's name, telephone number, place of residence, physical characteristics, or other descriptive or identifying information for the purpose of offering or soliciting sexual conduct of or with an identifiable child or the visual depiction of such conduct.

These acts shall be punished by a fine of not more than $10,000.00 and by imprisonment for not less than one nor more than 20 years.

It shall be unlawful for any person intentionally or willfully to utilize a computer on-line service or Internet service, including but not limited to a local bulletin board service, Internet chat room, e-mail, or on-line messaging service to seduce, solicit, lure, or entice, or attempt to seduce, solicit, lure, or entice a child or another person believed by such person to be a child to commit any illegal act such as sodomy or aggravated sodomy, child molestation or aggravated child molestation, enticing a child for indecent purposes, public indecency or to engage in any conduct that by its nature is an unlawful sexual offense against a child. Any person who violates paragraph this subsection shall be guilty of a felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by imprisonment for not less than one nor more than 20 years and by a fine of not more than $25,000.00; provided, however, that, if at the time of the offense the victim was 14 or 15 years of age and the defendant was no more than three years older than the victim, then the defendant shall be guilty of a misdemeanor of a high and aggravated nature.

Georgia law provides that a person commits the offense of obscene Internet contact with a child if he or she has contact with someone he or she knows to be a child or with someone he or she believes to be a child via a computer on-line service or Internet service, including but not limited to a local bulletin board service, Internet chat room, e-mail, or on-line messaging service, and the contact involves any matter containing explicit verbal descriptions or narrative accounts of sexually explicit nudity, sexual conduct, sexual excitement, or sadomasochistic abuse that is intended to arouse or satisfy the sexual desire of either the child or the person, provided that no conviction shall be had for a violation of this subsection on the unsupported testimony of a child.

Any person who violates this subsection shall be guilty of a felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by imprisonment for not less than one nor more than ten years or by a fine of not more than $10,000.00; provided, however, that, if at the time of the offense the victim was 14 or 15 years of age and the defendant was no more than three years older than the victim, then the defendant shall be guilty of a misdemeanor of a high and aggravated nature.

It shall be unlawful for any owner or operator of a computer on-line service, Internet service, or local bulletin board service intentionally or willfully to permit a subscriber to utilize the service to commit a violation of this Code section, knowing that such person intended to utilize such service to violate this Code section. No owner or operator of a public computer on-line service, Internet service, or local bulletin board service shall be held liable on account of any action taken in good faith in providing the aforementioned services. Any person who violates this subsection shall be guilty of a misdemeanor of a high and aggravated nature.

Recent Cases

• State v. Lyons - Age refers to actual age not mental age equivalent.
• State v. Collins - Rape requires proof of force and that the act is committed against the will of the victim unless the victim is under the age of ten. Force does not need to be physical, it may also be intimidation or reasonable apprehension of bodily harm.
• Durr v. State - The requirement of force can also include constructive force if the victim is physically or mentally unable to give consent. The state must prove beyond a reasonable doubt the victim’s inability to knowingly and intelligently consent to the alleged sexual act.
• Skipper v. State - Ejaculation is not an element of rape, carnal knowledge occurs when there is penetration of the female sex organ by the male sex organ.
• Warren v. State - There is no spousal exception to rape.
• Johnson v. State - Lack of resistance, induced by fear, is force.
• Vines v. State - A Defendant cannot be charged with child molestation if the only contact is over the phone.
• Davidson v. State - A child does not need to be unclothed for child molestation to occur.
• Lee v. State - A jury can find a defendant guilty of child molestation based on an out-of-court statement even if the victim recants in court if the jury chooses to believe the earlier statement.
• Barlow v. State - Opinions of experts on improper or suggestive interview tactics of children who are alleged to be victims of sexual abuse are admissible because jury members may not be familiar with how questions may influence the victim’s answers.
• Woods v. State - Evidence as to a child molestation victim’s sexual history is usually not admissible.
• Lasseter v. State - A conviction also requires proof of both enticement and a purpose.
• Peavy v. State - The lewd act does not need to be accomplished or even attempted for an enticement conviction. It need only be the motivation for enticement.
• Abernathy v. State - While the age of females in images of clearly prepubescent girls does not need to be established, pictures where age is not immediately clear requires further evidence.
• Phagan v. State - The state must prove that the defendant knew that the minor involved was under the age of 18.

Our criminal defense lawyers have successfully defended Georgia child molestation, rape and other sex crime cases for over a decade.

Our law firm of top defense attorneys has extensive experience in defending serious felony sex crimes in the metro areas of Atlanta, Athens, Macon, Augusta and in all other Georgia courts. Please contact us if you need a criminal defense lawyer who has successfully resolved alleged violations of Georgia sex crime laws.

PATE & BRODY
Centennial Tower,
Suite 3300
101 Marietta Street
Atlanta, Georgia 30303
Telephone:
(404) 223-3310

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