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 TEENS, SEX AND THE LAW
The following information is provided by the Governor’s Office for Children and Families. For more information go to www.children.ga.gov or call 404-656-5600.
Hooking up? (back to top)
• In Georgia, the age of consent is 16. That means that both partners
must be at least 16 to do anything physically intimate or “messing
around.”
• Believing that your partner is 16 doesn’t count – no matter how old
they act or look.
• Taking inappropriate pictures or movies of yourself or others and
sending them to friends on their cell phones or posting them on line
can be a serious crime.
• Sending sex related emails, text messages, or voice mails to a person under 18 is illegal and you may be prosecuted.
OCGASS16-12-100,100.1.
• If you’re texting a boyfriend or girlfriend in another state or chatting
on a social networking site, beware that other states may have even
stricter laws.
• Consider this…
When the teen is under 16 or if the photos are extremely
explicit and are distributed, the District Attorney can charge offenders with a felony carrying a significant prison sentence
of up to 20 years. OCGASS 16-12-100,100.2
What if…? (back to top)
• I’m 13 and my boyfriend is 17 and we have
intercourse?
A. The 17-year-old could be charged with
Felony Statutory Rape.
• I’m 14 and my boyfriend is 17 and we have intercourse?
A. The 17-year-old could be charged with Misdemeanor Statutory
Rape due to the Romeo and Juliet provision.
• I’m 19 and my girlfriend is 15 and we have oral
sex?
A. The 19-year-old could be charged with
Felony Aggravated
Child Molestation.
• I’m 17 and my boyfriend (who is also 17) likes to
text me sexually
explicit pictures of himself?
A. He could be charged with Felony Child
Sexual Exploitation.
• I’m 18 and convince my 16-year-old girlfriend to skip school with me
or run away from home?
A. The 18-year-old could be charged with Contributing to the Unruliness of a Minor. OCGAS 16-12-1.
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