Georgia’s sexual offender registration laws are among the toughest in the country. A conviction for a felony offense of a sexual nature may result in a requirement that the person registers as a sex offender for life, even if they are not a sexual predator.
The social stigma that comes with having a person’s name and photograph easily accessible to anyone on the internet that identifies them as a sex offender is a scary thought. Anyone is able to access sensitive information about that person’s background and what they have been through. Sex offender registration laws make it difficult to find a place to live in Atlanta and in the state of Georgia.
The most well-known crimes are rape and child molestation. However, Georgia has many other crimes that fall under the “sex crime” label. These include, but are not limited to statutory rape, sodomy, aggravated sodomy, aggravated child molestation, enticing a child, public indecency, prostitution, pandering for prostitution, sexual battery, aggravated sexual battery, child pornography, and online solicitation. If the offense is sexual in nature, such as a peeping tom charge while viewing a naked person, the result could be that the person is placed on the sex offender registry when convicted. This is why it is important that a person has an attorney to consult with about their rights and the consequences of what they face when charged with a sex crime in Fulton County, DeKalb County, Cobb County, or Gwinnett County.
Different sex crimes have different levels of punishments. A crime such as rape can carry up to life imprisonment with a mandatory minimum of twenty-five years in prison. There is not a possibility of parole during the first twenty-five years in the prison. It is a serious felony offense where a person should always consult a lawyer as soon as possible if they think they have been charged with rape.
An offense such as statutory rape can also be a felony, but it is a misdemeanor if it is two minors within a few years of age difference. Sodomy is a felony. Aggravated sodomy is a serious and potentially a life sentenced felony. Child molestation and aggravated child molestation are both felonies. It is a mandatory five years in prison for child molestation. For aggravated child molestation, there is a life sentence with a minimum of twenty five years in prison. Enticing a child is also a felony. Public indecency, however, is a misdemeanor. Misdemeanors are punishable by up to three years in jail. Public indecency does not carry a significant amount of jail time, if any jail. Soliciting a prostitute is an aggravated misdemeanor.
The most common felony level sex crimes in Atlanta are child molestations and rape. Rape is not necessarily a vicious serial act. It is often the result of two people getting together and having different views on who said yes and whether or not there was there was a consensual act. Many times it involves alcohol and drugs; the person accused of rape often has no idea at the time of the act that what they were doing might not have been consensual.
One of the key things is to hire an attorney who has resources to investigate the facts and circumstances surrounding the rape allegation. An attorney can build a defense by investigating the alleged victim and their background. Building a full story, not just a narrow point of view from the perspective of the alleged victim, is key to a person establishing their innocence and walking away unscathed from a serious charge like rape.
Similarly, child molestation is sometimes an act that is misinterpreted between a child and an adult. It is any immoral or indecent act in the presence of a child under sixteen to arouse or satisfy a sexual desire of the child or the defendant. Also, it can involve using electronic devices to transmit images of person engaging in immoral or indecent acts with a child under the age of sixteen.
The definitions of an arousal and an indecent act are turning points in these cases. It may require in-depth look into the alleged victim’s point of view and the defendant’s point of view to build a defense around the defendant’s point of view as not being immoral or indecent or for the purpose of arousal of a child or the defendant.
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