Georgia PROSTITUTION LAWS

Georgia Prostitution Laws | Prostitution – § 16-6-9

A person, 18 years of age or older, commits the offense of prostitution when he or she performs or offers or consents to perform a sexual act, including, but not limited to, sexual intercourse or sodomy, for money or other items of value.

Georgia Prostitution Laws | Public Indecency – § 16-6-8

1. 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.
2. 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 (c) of this Code section.
3. 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.
4. For the purposes of this Code section only, “public place” shall include jails and penal and correctional institutions of the state and its political subdivisions.
5. This Code section shall be cumulative to and shall not prohibit the enactment of any other general and local laws, rules, and regulations of state and local authorities or agencies and local ordinances prohibiting such activities which are more restrictive than this Code section.

Georgia Prostitution Laws | Keeping a Place of Prostitution – § 16-6-10

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.

Georgia Prostitution Laws | Pimping – § 16-6-11

A person commits the offense of pimping when he or she 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 purpose of prostitution;
3. Directs or transports another person to a place when he or she knows or should know that the direction or transportation is for the purpose of prostitution;
4. Receives money or another 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.

Georgia Prostitution Laws | Pandering – § 16-6-12

A person commits the offense of pandering when he or she solicits a person to perform an act of prostitution in his or her own behalf or in behalf of a third person 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.

Georgia Prostitution Laws | Solicitation of Sodomy – § 16-6-15

1. 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.
2. A person convicted of solicitation of sodomy when such offense involves the solicitation of a person or persons under the age of 18 years to perform or submit to an act of sodomy for money shall be guilty of a felony and shall be punished by imprisonment for a period of not less than five nor more than 20 years and shall be fined not less than $2,500.00 nor more than $10,000.00.

Georgia Prostitution Laws | Masturbation for Hire – § 16-6-16

1. 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.
2. A person committing the offense of masturbation for hire shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.

Georgia Prostitution Laws | Giving Massages in Place Used for Lewdness, Prostitution, Assignation, or Masturbation for Hire – § 16-6-17

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. Any person who violates this Code section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.

Georgia Prostitution Laws | Fornication – § 16-6-18

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 a misdemeanor.

Georgia Prostitution Laws | Adultery – § 16-6-19

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.

Georgia Prostitution Laws | Testing for Sexually Transmitted Diseases Required – § 16-6-13.1

1. Any term used in this Code section and defined in Code Section 31-22-9.1 shall have the meaning provided for such term in Code Section 31-22-9.1.
2. Upon a verdict or plea of guilty or a plea of nolo contendere to the offense of pandering, the court in which that verdict is returned or plea entered shall as a condition of probation or a suspended sentence require the defendant in such case to submit to testing for sexually transmitted diseases within 45 days following the date of the verdict or plea and to consent to release of the test results to the defendant’s spouse if the defendant is married; provided, however, that a defendant who is not a resident of this state shall, upon a verdict or plea of guilty or a plea of nolo contendere, be ordered by the court to undergo immediate testing for sexually transmitted diseases and shall remain in the custody of the court until such testing is completed. The clerk of the court, in the case of a defendant who is a resident of this state, shall mail, within three days following the date of that verdict or plea, a copy of that verdict or plea to the Department of Public Health. The tests for sexually transmitted diseases required under this subsection shall be limited to the eight most common sexually transmitted diseases as determined by the Department of Public Health.
3. The Department of Public Health, within 30 days following the notification under subsection (b) of this Code section, shall arrange for the tests for the person required to submit thereto. Such person shall bear the costs of such tests.
4. Any person required under this Code section to submit to testing for sexually transmitted diseases who fails or refuses to submit to the tests arranged pursuant to subsection (c) of this Code section shall be subject to such measures deemed necessary by the court in which the verdict was returned or plea entered to require voluntary submission to the tests.

Georgia Prostitution Laws | Civil Forfeiture of Motor Vehicle – § 16-6-13.2

1. As used in this Code section, the term “motor vehicle” shall have the same meaning as set forth in Code Section 40-1-1.
2. Any motor vehicle used by a person to facilitate a violation of Code Section 16-6-10, 16-6-11 when the offense involved the pimping of a person to perform an act of prostitution, or 16-6-12 is declared to be contraband and no person shall have a property right in it.
3. Any property subject to forfeiture pursuant to subsection (b) of this Code section shall be forfeited in accordance with the procedures set forth in Chapter 16 of Title 9.

Georgia Prostitution Laws | Civil Forfeiture of Proceeds and Property – § 16-6-13.3

1. As used in this Code section, the terms “proceeds” and “property” shall have the same meanings as set forth in Code Section 9-16-2.
2. Any property which is, directly or indirectly, used or intended for use in any manner to facilitate a violation of Code Section 16-6-10, 16-6-11, or 16-6-12 and any proceeds are declared to be contraband and no person shall have a property right in them.
3. Any property subject to forfeiture pursuant to subsection (b) of this Code section shall be forfeited in accordance with the procedures set forth in Chapter 16 of Title 9.

Georgia Prostitution Laws | Penalties for Violating Code Sections 16-6-9 Through 16-6-12 – § 16-6-13

1. Except as otherwise provided in subsection (b) of this Code section, a person convicted of violating:
   1. Code Section 16-6-10 shall be punished as for a misdemeanor of a high and aggravated nature, and at the sole discretion of the judge, all but 24 hours of any term of imprisonment imposed may be suspended, stayed, or probated;
   2. Code Section 16-6-9 shall be punished as for a misdemeanor;
   3. Code Section 16-6-11 for a:
      1. First offense shall be punished as for a misdemeanor of a high and aggravated nature, and at the sole discretion of the judge, all but 72 hours of any term of imprisonment imposed may be suspended, stayed, or probated; and
      2. Second or subsequent offense shall be guilty of a felony and shall be punished by a term of imprisonment of not less than one year nor more than ten years; or
   4. Code Section 16-6-12 for a:
      1. First offense shall be punished as for a misdemeanor of a high and aggravated nature, and at the sole discretion of the judge, all but 72 hours of any term of imprisonment imposed may be suspended, stayed, or probated; and
      2. Second or subsequent offense shall be guilty of a felony and shall be punished by a term of imprisonment of not less than one year nor more than ten years.
   1. Reserved.
   2. A person convicted of any of the offenses enumerated in Code Sections 16-6-10 through 16-6-12 when such offense involves the conduct of a person under the age of 18 years shall be guilty of a felony and shall be punished by imprisonment for a period of not less than ten nor more than 30 years and a fine of not more than $100,000.00.
   3. Adjudication of guilt or imposition of a sentence for a conviction of a second or subsequent offense pursuant to this subsection, including a plea of nolo contendere, shall not be suspended, probated, deferred, or withheld.
   1. The clerk of the court in which a person is convicted of pandering shall cause to be published a notice of conviction for each such person convicted. Such notices of conviction shall be published in the manner of legal notices in the legal organ of the county in which such person resides or, in the case of nonresidents, in the legal organ of the county in which the person was convicted. Such notice of conviction shall be one column wide by two inches long and shall contain the photograph taken by the arresting law enforcement agency at the time of arrest, name, and address of the convicted person and the date, time, place of arrest, and disposition of the case and shall be published once in the legal organ of the appropriate county in the second week following such conviction or as soon thereafter as publication may be made.
   2. The convicted person for which a notice of conviction is published pursuant to this subsection shall be assessed the cost of publication of such notice and such assessment shall be imposed at the time of conviction in addition to any other fine imposed pursuant to this Code section.
   3. The clerk of the court, the publisher of any legal organ which publishes a notice of conviction, and any other person involved in the publication of an erroneous notice of conviction shall be immune from civil or criminal liability for such erroneous publication, provided such publication was made in good faith.
2. In addition to any other penalty authorized under subsections (a) and (b) of this Code section, a person convicted of an offense enumerated in Code Sections 16-6-9 through 16-6-12 shall be fined $2,500.00 if such offense was committed within 1,000 feet of any school building, school grounds, public place of worship, or playground or recreation center which is used primarily by persons under the age of 17 years.