Georgia Sex Offender Laws 2022
Georgia Sex Offense Laws
This article is an overview of current Georgia sex offender laws, pending legislation, requirements and restrictions for persons convicted of sex crimes.
In 2022, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp added new measures that will promote extremely aggressive sentencing of every child sex offender. An article on the WTOC-11 news website stated, ” The House Bill 1188 makes laws that punish sex offenders much stronger. It’s something that the director at the Child Advocacy Center says is much needed. The initiative by State Senator Jen Jordan makes it illegal for high-risk sex offenders to get social media information on someone under 16 or to use social media to pretend to be under 16 to trick a child into sexual activity.”1
In June of this year, Keisha Sean Waites introduced legislation known as “Miriam’s Law” which would increase restrictions for people presently on the Georgia Sex Offender Registry. Per the Northside Neighbor website, the amendment to Title 42 of the Georgia Criminal Code would, “urge the state to create local state legislation that will properly rate and level sex offenders. The Sexual Offender Registration Board, also known as SORRB, is responsible for rating offenders and assigning an assessment to ensure the safety of the public. The board reviews the records of convicted sexual offenders and makes assessments about the likelihood that an offender will engage in another crime.”2
The Georgia House of Representatives is pushing forward HB347, which is an Act to amend Code Section 42-1-19 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to petition for release from registration requirements, so as to revise certain risk assessment classifications regarding the state sexual offender registry; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
Sex Crimes in Georgia
There are numerous acts that constitute a sex crime in Georgia. In every court in Georgia, sex crimes are harshly prosecuted and almost always result with incarceration. Anyone under investigation or arrested for sex crimes should contact an experienced sex crimes defense lawyer.
In Georgia, any person convicted of a sex crime are often required to formally register as a sex offender. Convictions of the most egregious sex crimes charges are always required to register as a sex offender. Examples of crimes that carry mandatory requirement for registration include, rape, child molestation, child pornography, sex trafficking, incest, and sodomy.
In Georgia, any person convicted of a sex crime are often required to formally register as a sex offender. Convictions of the most egregious sex crimes charges are always required to register as a sex offender.
Examples of crimes that carry mandatory requirement for registration include:
- Bestiality and Necrophilia
- Child Molestation / Aggravated Child Molestation
- Enticing a Child for Indecent Purposes
- Failure to Register as a Sex Offender
- Incest
- Public Indecency / Lewd Conduct
- Rape / Statutory Rape
- Sexual Assault
- Sexual Battery / Aggravated Sexual Battery
- Sodomy / Aggravated Sodomy
There are many other sex offense not listed here that can be found at the Justia Website .
Anyone who is convicted of a misdemeanor sexual offense, or charged in the juvenile justice system, usually are not required to register as a sex offender.
Georgia Sex Offender Registration
Time to Register as a Sex Offender
Within 72 hours of release from incarceration, convicted sex offenders must register in person with the sheriff of the county in which they will be living. For homeless offenders, they must register with the sheriff of the county where they expect to be living. When an offenders moves to a new address they must notify or update the sheriff of the county of their residence.
Sex Offender Registry Removal
Is it possible to be removed form the Georgia Sex Offender Registry? Yes, it is possible to have your name removed from the sex offender registry. The circumstances of a persons individual case, and other factors, ultimately determine what can be done to be removed from the Registry.
Upon release from incarceration, every person covicted of a sex crime will be assigned a designation of Level 1, 2, or 3 sex offender.
Classification of Sex Offenders?
What is a Level 1 Sex Offender
Level 1 Sex Offender status is applicable to first-time offenders who are not believed to have predatory behaviors, and do not seem to pose a danger or threat to the public.
What is a Level 2 Sex Offender?
Level 2 Sex Offender status is applicable to a convicted offender that is deemed to be a moderate threat to the public with possibility to commit another offense.
What is a Level 3 Sex Offender?
Level 3 Sex Offender status is applicable to convicted offenders with a strong possibility of committing another offense. Anyone with this classification will almost certainly be required to wear a monitoring device.
Georgia Sex Offender Living Restrictions
With consideration towards public safety, the State of Georgia enacted laws that restrict the post-incarceration life of offenders.
The early laws were substantially changed after a 2015 ruling by the Georgia Supreme Court. The Georgia Supreme Court ruled that the law that prohibits sex offenders from prohibited them from living, working or loitering within 1,000 feet of effectively any location children gather was unconstitutional. A significant argument for making the change came from several civil rights groups. In January 2015, the FoxNews website published an article that stated, “The law had been targeted by civil rights groups who argued it would render vast residential areas off-limits to Georgia’s roughly 11,000 registered sex offenders and could backfire by encouraging offenders to stop reporting their whereabouts to authorities.”3.
From representation for persons under investigation and charged, to post-conviction legal services our defense lawyers have the experience you need to affect the best possible outcome. For more information, please contact our criminal defense experts at 678-880-9360.
FOOTNOTES
- 1 Camille Syed, “Gov. Kemp signs new law to prosecute child sex offenders to the fullest extent”, April 27, 2022, Available from WTOC-11 News
- 2 Elizabeth Nouryeh-Clay, “Proposed law could strengthen legislation on sex offenders”, June 23, 2022, Available from Northside Neighbor
- 3Associated Press, “Georgia Court Overturns Ban Limiting Where Sex Offenders Can Live”, January 13, 2015, Available from FoxNews
- Photo by XXXXXXXXX on SOURCE
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