Georgia's Sex Laws

Since there was a discussion in the NNCONSPIRACY sub 
about Georgia sex laws, I thought I'd post the real 
deal here, in case anyone was wondering. There was 
also a good article on a test case of the sodomy 
statute, in which the defendant lost the case (but 
was not imprisoned or fined).  The decision went 
5-4 to uphold the sodomy statute.  I'll post it when 
I find it again.

====================================================

GEORGIA SEXUAL OFFENSES 
Official Code of Georgia 1992 Edition, Title 16 

16-6-1. Rape 
16-6-2. Sodomy 
16-6-3. Statutory rape 
16-6-4. Child molestation 
16-6-5. Enticing a child for indecent purposes 
16-6-5.1. Sexual assault against persons in custody 
16-6-6. Bestiality 
16-6-7. Necrophilia 
16-6-8. Public indecency 
16-6-9. Prostitution 
16-6-10. Keeping a place of prostitution 
16-6-11. Pimping 
16-6-12. Pandering 
16-6-14. Pandering by compulsion 
16-6-15. Solicitation of sodomy 
16-6-16. Masturbation for hire 
16-6-17. Giving massages in place used for lewdness 
16-6-18. Fornication 
16-6-19. Adultery 
16-6-20. Bigamy 
16-6-21. Marrying a bigamist 
16-6-22. Incest 
16-6-22.1. Sexual battery 
16-6-22.2. Aggravated sexual battery 
16-6-23. Publication of the name or identity of female raped 
16-12-80. Distributing obscene materials 
------------------------------------------ 

16-6-1. Rape. 
(a) A person commits the offense of rape when he has carnal knowledge 
of a female forcibly and against her will. Carnal knowledge in rape 
occurs when there is any penetration of the female sex organ by the male 
sex organ. 
(b) A person convicted of the offense of rape shall be punished by 
death, by imprisonment for life, or by imprisonment for not less than 
ten nor more than 20 years. Any person convicted under this Code section 
shall, in addition, be subject to the sentencing and punishment 
provisions of Code Sections 17-10-6.1 and 17-10-7. 

16-6-2. Sodomy; aggravated sodomy. 
(a) A person commits the offense of sodomy when he performs or submits 
to any sexual act involving the sex organs of one person and the mouth 
or anus of another. A person commits the offense of aggravated sodomy 
when he commits sodomy with force and against the will of the other 
person. 
(b) A person convicted of the offense of sodomy shall be punished by 
imprisonment for not less than one nor more than 20 years. A person 
convicted of the offense of aggravated sodomy shall be punished by 
imprisonment for life or by imprisonment for not less than ten nor more 
than 20 years. Any person convicted under this Code section of the 
offense of aggravated sodomy shall, in addition, be subject to the 
sentencing and punishment provisions of Code Sections 17-10-6.1 and 17-
10-7. 

16-6-3. Statutory rape. 
(a) A person commits the offense of statutory rape when he or she 
engages in sexual intercourse with any person under the age of 16 years 
and not his or her spouse, provided that no conviction shall be had for 
this offense on the unsupported testimony of the victim. 
(b) A person convicted of the offense of statutory rape shall be 
punished by imprisonment for not less than one nor more than 20 years; 
provided, however, that if the victim is 14 or 15 years of age and the 
person so convicted is no more than three years older than the victim, 
such person may, in the discretion of the court, be punished as for a 
misdemeanor. 

16-6-4. Child molestation; aggravated child molestation. 
(a) 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. 
(b) A person convicted of a first offense of child molestation shall 
be punished by imprisonment for not less than five nor more than 20 
years. Upon such first conviction of the offense of child molestation, 
the judge may probate the sentence; and such probation may be upon the 
special condition that the defendant undergo a mandatory period of 
counseling administered by a licensed psychiatrist or a licensed 
psychologist. However, if the judge finds that such probation should not 
be imposed, he or she shall sentence the defendant to imprisonment; 
provided, further, that upon a defendant's being incarcerated on a 
conviction for such first offense, the Department of Corrections shall 
provide counseling to such defendant. Upon a second or subsequent 
conviction of an offense of child molestation, the defendant shall be 
punished by imprisonment for not less than ten years nor more than 30 
years or by imprisonment for life; provided, however, that prior to 
trial, a defendant shall be given notice, in writing, that the state 
intends to seek a punishment of life imprisonment. Adjudication of guilt 
or imposition of sentence for a conviction of a second or subsequent 
offense of child molestation, including a plea of nolo contendere, shall 
not be suspended, probated, deferred, or withheld. 
© 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. 
(d) A person convicted of the offense of aggravated child molestation 
shall be punished by imprisonment for not less than ten nor more than 30 
years. Any person convicted under this Code section of the offense of 
aggravated child molestation shall, in addition, be subject to the 
sentencing and punishment provisions of Code Sections 17-10-6.1 and 17-
10-7. 

16-6-5. Enticing a child for indecent purposes. 
(a) 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. 
(b) A person convicted of the offense of enticing a child for indecent 
purposes shall be punished by imprisonment for not less than one nor 
more than 20 years. Upon a first conviction of the offense of enticing a 
child for indecent purposes, the judge may probate the sentence; and 
such probation may be upon the special condition that the defendant 
undergo a mandatory period of counseling administered by a licensed 
psychiatrist or a licensed psychologist. However, if the judge finds 
that such probation should not be imposed, he shall sentence the 
defendant to imprisonment. Upon a second or third conviction of such 
offense, the defendant shall be punished by imprisonment for not less 
than five years. For a fourth or subsequent conviction of the offense of 
enticing a child for indecent purposes, the defendant shall be punished 
by imprisonment for 20 years. Adjudication of guilt or imposition of 
sentence for a conviction of a third, fourth, or subsequent offense of 
enticing a child for indecent purposes, including a plea of nolo 
contendere, shall not be suspended, probated, deferred, or withheld. 

16-6-5.1. Sexual assault against persons in custody; sexual assault 
against person detained or patient in hospital or other institution; 
sexual assault by practitioner of psychotherapy against patient. 
(a) As used in this Code section, the term: 
1. "Actor" means a person accused of sexual assault. 
2. "Intimate parts" means the genital area, groin, inner thighs, 
buttocks, or breasts of a person. 
3. "Psychotherapy" means the professional treatment or counseling of 
a mental or emotional illness, symptom, or condition. 
4. "Sexual contact" means any contact for the purpose of sexual 
gratification of the actor with the intimate parts of a person not 
married to the actor. 
(b) A probation or parole officer or other custodian or supervisor of 
another person referred to in this Code section commits sexual assault 
when he engages in sexual contact with another person who is a a 
probationer or parolee under the supervision of said probation or parole 
officer or who is in the custody of law or who is enrolled in a school 
or who is detained in or is a patient in a hospital or other institution 
and such actor has supervisory or disciplinary authority over such other 
person. A person convicted of sexual assault shall be punished by 
imprisonment for not less than one nor more than three years. 
© 1. A person commits sexual assault when such person has 
supervisory or disciplinary authority over another person and such 
person engages in sexual contact with that other person who is: 
In the custody of law; or 
Detained in or is a patient in a hospital or other institution. 
2. A person commits sexual assault when, as an actual or purported 
practitioner of psychotherapy, he or she engages in sexual contact with 
another person who the actor knew or should have known is the subject of 
the actor's actual or purported treatment or counseling, or, if the the 
treatment or counseling relationship was used to facilitate sexual 
contact between the actor and said person. 
3. Consent of the victim shall not be a defense to a prosecution 
under this subsection. 
4. A person convicted of the offense of sexual assault under this 
subsection shall be punished by imprisonment for not less than one nor 
more than three years. 

16-6-6. Bestiality. 
(a) A person commits the offense of bestiality when he performs or 
submits to any sexual act with an animal involving the sex organs of the 
one and the mouth, anus, penis, or vagina of the other. 
(b)A person convicted of the offense of bestiality shall be punished 
by imprisonment for not less than one nor more than five years. 

16-6-7. Necrophilia. 
(a) A person commits the offense of necrophilia when he performs any 
sexual act with a dead human body involving the sex organs of the one 
and the mouth, anus, penis, or vagina of the other. 
(b) A person convicted of the offense of necrophilia shall be punished 
by imprisonment for not less than one nor more than ten years. 

16-6-8. Public indecency. 
(a) A person commits the offense of public indecency when he or she 
performs any of the following acts in a public place. 
1. An act of sexual intercourse; 
2. A lewd exposure of the sexual organs; 
3. A lewd appearance in a state of partial or complete nudity; or 
4. A lewd caress or indecent fondling of the body of another person. 
(b) A person convicted of the offense of public indecency as provided 
in subsection (a) of this Code section shall be punished as for a 
misdemeanor. except as provided in subsection © of this Code section. 
© Upon a third or subsequent conviction for public indecency for the 
violation of paragraph (2), (3), or (4) of subsection (a) of this Code 
section, a person shall be guilty of a felony and shall be punished by 
imprisonment for not less than one nor more than five years. 

16-6-9. Prostitution. 
A person commits the offense of prostitution when he performs or 
offers or consents to perform an act of sexual intercourse for money. 
A person convicted of the offense of prostitution shall be punished as 
for a misdemeanor.. 

16-6-10. Keeping a place of prostitution. 
A person having or exercising control over the use of any place or 
conveyance which would offer seclusion or shelter for the practice of 
prostitution commits the offense of keeping a place of prostitution when 
he knowingly grants or permits the use of such place for the purpose of 
prostitution. 
A person convicted of the offense of keeping a place of prostitution 
shall be punished as for a misdemeanor of a high and aggravated nature.. 

16-6-11. Pimping. 
A person commits the offense of pimping when he performs any of the 
following acts: 
1. Offers or agrees to procure a prostitute for another; 
2. Offers or agrees to arrange a meeting of persons for the ourpose 
of prostitution; 
3. Directs another to a place knowing such direction is for the 
purpose of prostitution; 
4. Receives money or other thing of value from a prostitute, without 
lawful consideration, knowing it was earned in whole or in part from 
prostitution; or 
5. Aids or abets, counsels, or commands another in the commission of 
prostitution or aids or assists in prostitution where the proceeds or 
profits derived therefrom are to be divided on a pro rata basis. 
A person convicted of the offense of pimping shall be punished as for 
a misdemeanor of a high and aggravated nature. 

16-6-12. Pandering. 
A person commits the offense of pandering when he or she solicits a 
person to perform an act of prostitution or when he or she knowingly 
assembles persons at a fixed place for the purpose of being solicited by 
others to perform an act of prostitution. 
A person convicted of the offense of pandering shall be punished as 
for a misdemeanor of a high and aggravated nature. A person convicted of 
the offense of pandering when such offense involves the solicitation of 
a person under the age of 17 years to perform an act of prostitution or 
the assembly of two or more persons under the age of 17 years at a fixed 
place for the purpose of being solicited by others to perform an act of 
prostitution shall be guilty of a felony and shall be fined not less 
than $1,000.00 nor more than $5,000.00 or shall be imprisoned for not 
less than one year nor more than five years, or both fined and 
imprisoned. Adjudication of guilt or imposition of a sentence for a 
conviction of a second or subsequent offense of pandering involving a 
person under the age of 17 years pursuant to this subsection, including 
a plea of nolo contendere shall not be suspended, probated, deferred, or 
withheld. 

16-6-12. Pandering by compulsion. 
A person commits the offense of pandering by compulsion when he by 
duress or coercion causes a female to perform an act of prostitution 
and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by imprisonment for not 
less than one nor more than ten years. 

16-6-15. Solicitation of sodomy. 
(a) A person commits the offense of solicitation of sodomy when he 
solicits another to perform or submit to an act of sodomy. Except as 
provided in subsection (b) of this Code section, a person convicted of 
solicitation of sodomy shall be punished as for a misdemeanor. 
(b) A person convicted of solicitation of sodomy when such offense 
involves the solicitation of a person under the age of 17 years to 
perform or submit to an act of sodomy for money shall be guilty of a 
felony and shall be fined not less than $1,000.00 nor more than 
$5,000.00 or shall be imprisoned for not less than one year nor more 
than five years, or both fined and imprisoned. 

16-6-16. Masturbation for hire. 
(a) A person, including a masseur or masseuse, commits the offense of 
masturbation for hire when he erotically stimulates the genital organs 
of another, whether resulting in orgasm or not, by manual or other 
bodily contact exclusive of sexual intercourse or by instrumental 
manipulation for money or the substantial equivalent thereof. 
(b) A person convicted of the offense of masturbation for hire shall 
be guilty of a misdemeanor. 

16-6-17. Giving massages in place used for lewdness, prostitution, 
assignation, or masturbation for hire. 
(a) It shall be unlawful for any masseur or masseuse to massage any 
person in any building, structure, or place used for the purpose of 
lewdness, assignation, prostitution, or masturbation for hire. 
(b) As used in this Code section, the term: 
1. "Masseur" means a male who practices massage or physiotherapy, or 
both. 
2. "Masseuse" means a female who practices massage or physiotherapy, 
or both. 
© A person who violates this Code section shall be guilty of a 
misdemeanor. 

16-6-18. Fornication. 
An unmarried person commits the offense of fornication when he 
voluntarily has sexual intercourse with another person and, upon 
conviction thereof, shall be punished as for a misdemeanor. 

16-6-19. Adultery. 
A married person commits the offense of adultery when he voluntarily 
has sexual intercourse with a person other than his spouse and, upon 
conviction thereof, shall be punished as for a misdemeanor. 

16-6-20. Bigamy. 
(a) A person commits the offense of bigamy when he, being married and 
knowing that his lawful spouse is living, marries another person or 
carries on a bigamous cohabitation with another person. 
(b) It shall be an affirmative defense that the prior spouse has been 
continually absent for a period of seven years, during which time the 
accused did not know the prior spouse to be alive, or that the accused 
reasonably believed he was eligible to remarry. 
© A person convicted of the offense of bigamy shall be punished by 
imprisonment for not less than one nor more than ten years. 

16-6-21. Marrying a bigamist. 
(a) An unmarried man or woman commits the offense of marrying a 
bigamist when he marries a person whom he knows to be the wife or 
husband of another. 
(b) It shall be an affirmative defense that the prior spouse of the 
bigamist has been continually absent for a period of seven years, during 
which time the accused did not know the prior spouse of the bigamist to 
be alive, or that the accused reasonably believed the bigamist was 
eligible to remarry. 
© A person convicted of the offense of marrying a bigamist shall be 
punished by imprisonment for not less than one nor more than ten years. 

16-6-22. Incest. 
(a) A person commits the offense of incest when he engages in sexual 
intercourse with a person to whom he knows he is related either by blood 
or by marriage as follows: 
1. Father and daughter or stepdaughter; 
2. Mother and son or stepson; 
3. Brother and sister or the whole blood or of the half blood; 
4. Grandparent and grandchild; 
5. Aunt and nephew; or 
6. Uncle and niece. 
(b) A person convicted of the offense of incest shall be punished by 
imprisonment for not less than one nor more than 20 years. 

16-6-22.1. Sexual battery. 
(a) For the purposes of this Code section, the term "intimate parts" 
means the primary genital area, anus, groin, inner thighs, or buttocks 
of a male or female and the breasts of a female. 
(b) A person commits the offense of sexual battery when he 
intentionally makes physical contact with the intimate parts of the body 
of another person without the consent of that person. 
© A person convicted of the offense of sexual battery shall be 
punished as for a misdemeanor of a high and aggravated nature. 

16-6-22.2. Aggravated sexual battery. 
(a) For the purposes of this Code section, the term "foreign object" 
means any article or instrument other than the sexual organ of a person. 
(b) A person commits the offense of aggravated sexual battery when he 
intentionally penetrates with a foreign object the sexual organ or anus 
of another person without the consent of that person. 
© A person convicted of the offense of aggravated sexual battery 
shall be punished by imprisonment for not less than one nor more than 20 
years. 

16-6-23. Publication of the name or identity of female raped or 
assaulted with intent to commit rape. 
(a) It shall be unlawful for any news media or any other person to 
print and publish, broadcast, televise, or disseminate through any other 
medium of public dissemination or cause to be printed or published, 
broadcast, televised, or disseminated in any newspaper, magazine, 
periodical, or other publication published in this state or through any 
radio or television broadcast originating in the state the name or 
identity of any female who may have been raped or upon whom an assault 
with intent to commit the offense of rape may have been made. 
(b) This Code section does not apply to truthful information disclosed 
in public court documents open to public inspection. 
© Any person or corporation violating this Code section shall be 
guilty of a misdemeanor. 

16-12-80. Distributing obscene materials; obscene material defined; 
penalty. 
A person commits the offense of distribution obscene materials when he 
sells, lens, rents, leases, gives, advertises, publishes, exhibits, or 
otherwise disseminates to any person any obscene material of any 
description, knowing the obscene nature thereof, or offers to do so, or 
possesses such material with the intent to do so, provided that the word 
"knowing," as used in this Code section, shall be deemed to be either 
actual or constructive knowledge of the obscene contents of the subject 
matter; and a person has constructive knowledge of the obscene contents 
if he has knowledge of facts which would put a reasonable and prudent 
person on notice as to the suspect nature of the material; provided, 
however, that the character and reputation of the individual charged 
with an offense under this law, and, if a commercial dissemination of 
obscene material is involved, the character and reputation of the 
business establishment involved may be placed into evidence by the 
defendant on the question of intent to violate this law. Undeveloped 
photographs, molds, printing plates, and the like shall be deemed 
obscene notwithstanding that the processing or other acts may be 
required to make the obscenity patent or to disseminate it. 

Material is obscene if: 
1. To the average person, applying contemporary community standards, 
taken as a whole, it predominantly appeals to the prurient interest, 
that is, a shameful or morbid interest in nudity, sex, or excretion; 
2. The material taken as a whole lacks serious literary, artistic, 
political, or scientific value; and 
3. The material depicts or describes, in a patently offensive way, 
sexual conduct specifically defined in subparagraphs 1-5 of this 
section: 
1. Acts of sexual intercourse, heterosexual or homosexual, normal 
or perverted, actual or simulated; 
2. Acts of masturbation; 
3. Acts involving excretory functions or lewd exhibition of the 
genitals; 
4. Acts of bestiality or the fondling of sex organs of animals; 
or 
5. Sexual acts of flagellation, torture, or other violence 
indicating a sadomasochistic sexual relationship. 

Additionally, any device designed or marketed as useful primarily for 
the stimulation of human genital organs is obscene material under this 
Code section. 
Material not otherwise obscene may be obscene under this Code section 
if the distribution thereof, the offer to do so, or the possession with 
the intent to do so is a commercial exploitation of erotica solely for 
the sake of their prurient appeal. 
It is an affirmative defense under this Code section that 
dissemination of the material was restricted to: 
1. A person associated with an institution of higher learning, 
either as a member of the faculty or a matriculated student, teaching or 
pursuing a course of study related to such material; or 
2. A person whose receipt of such material was authorized in writing 
by a licensed medical practitioner or psychiatrist. 
A person who commits the offense of distributing obscene material 
shall be guilty of a misdemeanor of a high and aggravated nature. 

17-10-3. Punishment for misdemeanors generally. 
Except as otherwise provided by law, every crime declared to be a 
misdemeanor shall be punished either: 
1. By a fine not to exceed $1,000.00 or by confinement in the county 
or other jail, county correctional institution, or such other places as 
counties may provide for maintenance of county inmates, for a total term 
not to exceed 12 months, or both; or 
2. By confinement under the jurusdiction of the Board of Corrections 
in a state or county correctional institution or such other institution 
as the Department of Corrections may direct, for a determinate term of 
months which shall be more than six months but shall not exceed a total 
term of 12 months. 
Either the punishment proveded by paragraph (1) or (2), bubut not 
both, may be imposed in the discretion of the sentencing judge. 
Misdemeanor punishment imposed under either paragraph may be subject to 
suspension or probation, but the punishment provided in paragraph (2) 
shall not be subject to suspension or probation wholly or partially upon 
payment of a fine either directly or indirectly. The sentencing courts 
shall retain jurisdiction to amend, modify, alter, suspend, or probate 
sentences under paragraph (1) at any time, but in no instance shall any 
sentence under the paragraph be modified in a manner to place a county 
inmate under the jurisdiction of the Board of Corrections. 
Any person adjudicated guilty of a misdemeanor for the first time, who 
was on the date that the misdemeanor was committed between the ages of 
16 and 18 years old, shall be punished by a fine not to exceed $1,000.00 
or confined exclusively under the jurisdiction of the Board of 
Corrections for a period not to exceed 12 months. 
In all misdemeanor cases in which, upon conviction, a six-month 
sentence or less is imposed, it is within the authority and discretion 
of the sentencing judge to allow the sentence to be served on weekends 
by weekend confinement or during the nonworking hours of the defendant. 
A weekendshall commence and shall end at the discretion of the 
sentencing judge, and the nonworking hours of the defendant shall be 
determined in the discretion of the sentencing judge; provided, however, 
that the judge shall retain plenary control of the defendant at all 
times during the sentence period. A weekend term shall be counted as 
serving two days of the full sentence. Confinement during the nonworking 
hours of a defendant during any day may be counted as serving a full day 
of the sentence. 
In addition to or instead of any other penalty provided for the 
punishment of a misdemeanorinvolving a traffic offense, or punishment of 
a municipal ordinance involving a traffic offense, with the exception of 
habitual offenders sentenced under Code Section 17-10-7, a judge may 
impose any one or more of the following sentences: 
* Reexamination by the Department of Public Safety when the judge 
has good cause to believe that the convicted licensed driver is 
incompetent or otherwise not qualified to be licensed; 
* Attendance at, and satisfactory completion of, a driver 
imporvement course meeting standards approved by the court; 
* Within the limits of authority of the charter powers of a 
municipality or the punishment prescribed by law in other courts, 
imprisonment at times specified by the court or release from 
imprisonment under such conditions and at such times as may be 
specified; or 
* Probation or suspension of all or any part of a penalty upon such 
terms and conditions as may be prescribed by the judge. The conditions 
may include driving with no further motor vehicle violations diring a 
specified time unless the driving privileges have been or will be 
otherwise suspended or revoked by law; reporting periodically to the 
court or specified agency; and performing, or refraining from 
performing, such acts as may be ordered by the judge. 
Any sentence imposed under the above section shall be reported to the 
Department of Public Safety as prescribed by law. 

17-10-4. Punishment for misdemeanors of a high and aggravated nature. 
A person who is convicted of a misdemeanor of a high and aggravated 
nature shall be punished by a fine not to exceed $5,000.00 or by 
confinement in the county or other jail, county correctional 
institution, or such other places as counties may provide for 
maintenance of county inmates, for a term not to exceed 12 months, or 
both. In all cases of a conviction of a misdemeanor of a high and 
aggravated nature, the sentencing court shall retain jurisdiction to 
amend, modify, alter, suspend, or probate sentences imposed under this 
Code section at any time; but in no instance shall a sentence under this 
Code section be modified in such a manner as to place a county inmate 
under the jurisdiction of the Board of Corrections. 
Notwithstanding any laws to the contrary, a person sentenced for a 
misdemeanor of a high and aggravated nature shall be entitled to only 
four days per month earned time allowance.