If you have been charged with rape, sexual battery, solicitation,
lewd conduct, pandering, indecent exposure, child molestation, enticing
a child for indecent purposes, sexual exploitation, electronically
furnishing obscene material to minors, or aggravated sodomy in Georgia,
you should contact Conaway, Strickler, & Margolis, P.C. right away to ensure
that your rights are being aggressively defended. Our firm has over
a decade of experience successfully defending the rights of clients
accused of serious crimes, including sex crimes. Contact Conaway
& Strickler, P.C. today for a free consultation with an Atlanta rape defense attorney and find out how we can help you during
this difficult time.
Each year there are countless cases of individuals wrongfully accused
of and charged with sexual offenses in Georgia. In this situation,
it is very important that you secure the representation of an Atlanta sex crime defense lawyer who is skilled in sex crime law and that
will be able to use evidence to show your good character, while
using evidence which will show the lack of character of the accuser
in the case.
Listed below are some sex crimes which may result in severe penalties,
misdemeanor or felony charges, monetary fines, and mandatory sex
offender registration:
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Rape -This is a serious crime in which one individual
uses force, violence, or fear to sexually penetrate a victim
against his or her will. Georgia rape penalties- O.C.G.A. 16-6-1
(b) "A person convicted of the offense of rape shall be punished
by, imprisonment for life without parole, by imprisonment for
life, or by imprisonment for not less than ten nor more than
twenty 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."
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Sexual battery - This sex crime occurs when, for sexual arousal, a person touches the intimate part of another individual
against his or her will. O.C.G.A. 16-6-22.1 (c) "Except as otherwise
provided in this Code section, a person convicted of the offense
of sexual battery shall be punished as for a misdemeanor of
a high and aggravated nature."
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Solicitation - Solicitation is a crime in which one
person pays for or offers an incentive to another individual
for sex. Many times people are arrested for solicitation during
undercover sting operations when a police officer poses as a
prostitute, then arrests the suspected solicitor.
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Lewd conduct - This crime takes place in a public place
when one person inappropriately touches or grabs another person's
buttocks, genitals, or breasts for the purpose of gratification,
sexual arousal, annoyance or offense.
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Pandering - A person commits the offense of pandering
when one solicits a person to perform an act of prostitution in one's own behalf or in behalf of a third person or when one
knowingly assembles persons at a fixed place for the purpose
of being solicited by others to perform an act of prostitution.
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Indecent Exposure/Public Indecency - This crime occurs
when a person commits 1) an act of sexual intercourse, 2) a
lewd exposure of 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 in a public place.
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Child Molestation - This is defined as "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". Aggravated
child molestation is further defined as "any act of child molestation
which includes an act of sodomy or intercourse". These crimes
are some of the most serious in Georgia and are one of the types
of criminal offenses that Conaway, Strickler, & Margolis, P.C. is deeply
familiar with. If you have been accused or are facing investigation
or prosecution for this type of offense you need to seek legal
representation immediately.
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Enticing a Child for Indecent Purposes - Under Georgia
law this offense is defined as taking or soliciting a child
under the age of sixteen years to any place whatsoever for the
purpose of child molestation or other indecent acts. This is
a felony offense punishable from 1 to 20 years in prison.
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Sexual exploitation of children - it is unlawful to
use, employ, persuade, induce, use, 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.
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Electronically furnishing obscene material to minors - if one knows or has good reason to know the character of the material furnished, the person electronically furnishes to an
individual whom the person knows or should have known is a minor
any picture, photograph, etc of a person or a portion of the
human body which depicts sexual conduct, nudity or abuse which
is harmful to minors, or any written or aural matter that contains
such material and taken as a whole lacks serious literary, artistic,
political, or scientific value and incites prurient interest
instead.
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Aggravated Sodomy - a person commits the act of aggravated
sodomy when he/she forces another person against their will,
or a child of less than ten years of age, to engage in oral
or anal sex. This crime is a felony and is punishable from 1
to 20 years in prison.
If you have been charged with a sex crime charge in Georgia, you
are facing serious consequences which may carry life long penalties
and may ruin your reputation within your community and your chances
to pursue certain personal and professional endeavors. If you are
convicted of committing a sexual offense, you are facing a long
prison term and monetary fines, and you may have to register as
a sex offender with State and local law enforcement agencies for
the rest of your life.
If convicted, you may have to register with the Georgia Violent
Sexual Offender Registry, an organization which stores information
regarding sex offenders who were released from prison or placed
on probation after July 1, 1996. Certain convicted sex offenders
in Georgia will be forced to register as a sex offender with the
Sheriff, in accordance with Official Code of Georgia Annotated statute
42-1-12.
Failure to Register as a Sex Offender
Persons, who have been convicted of certain crimes in Georgia including
child molestation and aggravated child molestation, are now required
to register as sex offenders with the county sheriff's office in
which they reside. This is a new statute in Georgia and is highly
complicated. Failure to register is a felony under Georgia law.
