Georgia Age of Consent & Sex Laws Georgia Age of Consent Laws 2024

What is the Georgia Age of Consent?

The Georgia Age of Consent is 16 years old. In the United States, the age of consent is the minimum age at which an individual is considered legally old enough to consent to participation in sexual activity. Individuals aged 15 or younger in Georgia are not legally able to consent to sexual activity, and such activity may result in prosecution for statutory rape.

Georgia statutory rape law is violated when a person has consensual sexual intercourse with an individual under age 16 who is not their spouse. While no close in age exemptions exist in Georgia, if the offender is under age 19 and the victim is no more than 4 years younger, the offense is classified as a misdemeanor rather than a felony.

View list of sexual assault laws & punishments in Georgia

Georgia does not have a close-in-age exemption. Close in age exemptions, commonly known as "Romeo and Juliet laws", are put in place to prevent the prosecution of individuals who engage in consensual sexual activity when both participants are significantly close in age to each other, and one or both partners are below the age of consent.

Because there is no such "Romeo and Juliet law" in Georgia, it is possible for two individuals both under the age of 16 who willingly engage in intercourse to both be prosecuted for statutory rape, although this is rare. Similarly, no protections are reserved for sexual relations in which one participant is a 15 year old and the second is a 16 or 17 year old.


Age of Consent across the United States

The Age of Consent ranges state-by-state from 16 to 18 years old across the United States. Click the map to view any state's age of consent laws.

Age Of Consent:

16 years old
17 years old
18 years old

Punishments for Violating the Age Of Consent in Georgia

Georgia has eight statutory sexual abuse charges on the books which are used to prosecute age of consent and child abuse related crimes within the state. One or more of these charges may be used to prosecute violations of the Georgia Age of Consent, as statutory rape or the Georgia equivalent of that charge.

The severity of the criminal charge (felony, misdemeanor, etc) depends on the specifics of the acts committed and the relative ages of the perpetrator and victim. Click any charge for more detailed information.

Criminal Charge Severity Punishment
Aggravated child molestation Felony; Misdemeanor Punishable by life imprisonment or 25-life followed by probation for life; Jail time not to exceed 12 months and/or a fine not to exceed $1,000.00
Aggravated sexual battery Felony Life in prison or a split sentence of 25- life, followed by probation for life
Aggravated sodomy Felony; Misdemeanor Minimum of 25 years; Jail time not to exceed 12 months and/or a fine not to exceed $1,000.00
Child molestation Felony Punishable by imprisonment for10-30 years or by imprisonment for life.; Punishable by imprisonment for not less than five nor more than 20 years
Incest Felony 25-50 years
Sexual Battery Felony 1-5 years in prison
Statutory Rape Felony; Misdemeanor 10-20 years in prison.; 1-20 years in prison ; Jail time not to exceed 12 months and/or a fine not to exceed $1,000.00
Trafficking a person for labor or sexual servitude Felony 25-50 years or life imprisonment

Back to list of state ages of consent View international ages of consent

** This Document Provided By AgeOfConsent.net **
Source: http://www.ageofconsent.net/states/georgia