Which of the new misdemeanor crimes the Georgia legislature created in 2020 should require fingerprinting at arrest?

Plain-English summary

The 2020 GCIC fingerprintable-offense review was unusually short, but every new misdemeanor in the request was designated as fingerprintable. The 2020 session focused criminal-law work on protecting foster children from sexual misconduct by foster parents and on creating a new sexual-extortion offense for adult victims.

Foster parent improper sexual contact (§ 16-6-5.1(b.1) and (c.1)): The 2020 amendments added foster parents to the existing § 16-6-5.1 framework on improper sexual contact by employees and agents. Subsection (b.1) targeted foster parents engaging in sexually explicit conduct with a current foster child (felony under § 16-6-5.1(f), or a Romeo-and-Juliet misdemeanor under (f)(2) when both parties were young and close in age). Subsection (c.1) targeted foster parents engaging in sexual contact (excluding sexually explicit conduct) with a current foster child (high-and-aggravated misdemeanor under (g), felony under (g)(2) if the child was under 16, with a Romeo-and-Juliet misdemeanor carve-out and a felony escalation under (g)(3) for second offenses).

The AG designated all the misdemeanor variants under both subsections as fingerprintable. Foster-parent sexual misconduct against a child in care is a particularly serious abuse of trust, and the Romeo-and-Juliet misdemeanor variants needed the same fingerprinting treatment as their employee-or-agent counterparts in the 2019 designation.

Sexual extortion of adult victim (§ 16-11-92(b)): Georgia previously had a "revenge porn" statute aimed at non-consensual distribution of intimate images. The 2020 amendments added a new sexual-extortion offense where the victim was an adult (over 18), criminalizing the conduct of intentionally coercing the adult (orally, in writing, or electronically) to distribute photos, videos, or other images depicting nudity or sexually explicit conduct. The first offense was a high-and-aggravated misdemeanor under § 16-11-92(c)(1); a second or subsequent offense was a felony under § 16-11-92(c)(2).

The AG designated the misdemeanor variant of sexual extortion as fingerprintable. The graduated structure (misdemeanor first, felony second) was a strong signal of legislative seriousness, and the privacy-and-coercion harms were significant enough to warrant fingerprinting at arrest.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2020. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

Common questions

Q: Why did Georgia add foster parents to § 16-6-5.1?
A: § 16-6-5.1 already covered employees and agents in custodial or fiduciary relationships (probation officers, hospital staff, etc.). Foster parents stand in a similar relationship of trust and authority over a foster child. The 2020 amendment extended the same liability framework specifically to foster parents.

Q: What's the Romeo-and-Juliet carve-out?
A: When both parties are young and close in age, the felony becomes a misdemeanor. Under § 16-6-5.1(f)(2), the misdemeanor variant of the first-degree offense applies when the victim is at least 14 but less than 21 and the defendant is 21 or younger and not more than 48 months older. Same logic for the second-degree variant under § 16-6-5.1(g)(2).

Q: Does the foster-parent provision apply to former foster children?
A: No, the statute applies to a "current foster child." Sexual conduct with a former foster child is outside § 16-6-5.1(b.1) and (c.1), though it could potentially be reached by other statutes depending on the facts.

Q: What's the difference between sexual extortion against an adult and revenge porn?
A: Revenge porn (under separate statutes) targets the act of distributing intimate images without consent. Sexual extortion under § 16-11-92(b) targets the act of coercing someone to distribute the images themselves. The new 2020 misdemeanor specifically addressed the coercive demand against adults; existing law already addressed coercion against minors.

Q: Could a romantic partner be charged with sexual extortion?
A: If the conduct met the elements (intentional coercion, in any form, demanding distribution of nude or sexually explicit images, victim is over 18), yes. The relationship between the parties does not provide a defense.

Q: Why was the misdemeanor first offense fingerprintable?
A: The high-and-aggravated misdemeanor classification, the felony second-offense escalation under § 16-11-92(c)(2), and the privacy-and-coercion harms all supported designating it as fingerprintable. Fingerprinting at the misdemeanor stage matters because second offenses become felonies; a record of the first offense is needed.

Background and statutory framework

The 2020 enactments reflected continued legislative attention to abuses of power and digital-era coercion. The foster-parent additions to § 16-6-5.1 closed a perceived gap in the existing employee-or-agent improper-sexual-contact framework. The sexual-extortion provision added a new tool to address the rising problem of "sextortion," which had been a federal-prosecution focus but lacked a clean state-law charge in Georgia.

The graduated penalty structure (misdemeanor first, felony second) is a common Georgia approach for offenses that involve repeat-offender concerns. It allows charging a serious-but-first-offense conduct as a misdemeanor while creating a strong escalation incentive for the prosecution if the conduct recurs.

The cross-references in § 16-6-5.1 are dense (subsection (b) maps to (f); subsection (c) maps to (g); the foster-parent additions in (b.1) and (c.1) inherit the same penalty framework). The AG opinion's careful designation of each subsection-misdemeanor combination ensures that GCIC fingerprinting practice covers all misdemeanor variants without gaps.

Citations and references

Statutes:
- O.C.G.A. § 35-3-33 (Crime Information Center fingerprintable-offense provisions)
- O.C.G.A. § 16-6-5.1 (improper sexual contact by employee, agent, foster parent)
- O.C.G.A. § 16-11-92 (sexual extortion)
- O.C.G.A. § 16-12-100 (sexually explicit conduct definitions)

Source

• Landing page: https://law.georgia.gov/opinions/2020-4

Original opinion text

Generally, under Georgia law, in addition to the determination of fingerprintable offenses which the General Assembly may mandate by statute, O.C.G.A. § 35‑3‑33 (a)(1)(A)(v) provides that the Attorney General may designate any other offense as one for which those charged with violations are to be fingerprinted. See, e.g., 2019 Op. Att'y Gen. 2019-3; 2018 Op. Att'y Gen. 2018‑3, 2017 Op. Att'y Gen. 2017‑1, 2015 Op. Att'y Gen. 2015‑2, 2014 Op. Att'y Gen. 2014‑2, 2013 Op. Att'y Gen. 2013‑4, 2012 Op. Att'y Gen. 2012‑6. The offenses under review from the 2020 Session of the General Assembly include: O.C.G.A. § 16‑6‑5.1(b.1) (any foster parent knowingly engaging in sexually explicit conduct with his or her current foster child); O.C.G.A. § 16‑6‑5.1(c.1) (any foster parent knowingly engaging in sexual contact with his or her current foster child); and O.C.G.A. § 16-11-92(b) (intentionally coercing another individual over the age of 18 to distribute any photograph, video, or other image that depicts any individual in a state of nudity or engaged in sexually explicit conduct). The first misdemeanor offense is O.C.G.A. § 16‑6‑5.1(b.1). This Code section provides that when any foster parent knowingly engages in sexually explicit conduct, as defined in O.C.G.A. § 16-12-100, with his or her current foster child, that person has committed the offense of improper sexual contact by a foster parent in the first degree, which is a felony pursuant to O.C.G.A. § 16‑6‑5.1(f). If, however, at the time of the offense, the victim of the offense is at least 14 years of age but less than 21 years of age and the defendant is 21 years of age or younger and is not more than 48 months older than the victim, such person shall be guilty of misdemeanor pursuant to O.C.G.A. § 16‑6‑5.1(f)(2). I hereby designate any misdemeanor offenses arising under O.C.G.A. §§ 16‑6‑5.1(b.1) and 16‑6‑5.1(f)(2) as offenses for which those charged are to be fingerprinted. The second misdemeanor offense is O.C.G.A. § 16‑6‑5.1(c.1). This Code section provides that when any person knowingly engages in sexual contact, excluding sexually explicit conduct, with his or her current foster child, that person has committed the offense of improper sexual contact by a foster parent in the second degree, which is a misdemeanor of a high and aggravated nature pursuant to O.C.G.A. § 16‑6‑5.1(g), unless the child is under the age of 16 years, which is a felony as provided by O.C.G.A. § 16‑5‑6.1(g)(2). Upon a second or subsequent conviction of improper sexual contact by a foster parent in the second degree, that person shall be guilty of a felony pursuant to O.C.G.A. § 16‑6‑5.1(g)(3). If, however, at the time of the offense, the victim of the offense is at least 14 years of age but less than 21 years of age and the defendant is 21 years of age or younger and is not more than 48 months older than the victim, such person shall be guilty of misdemeanor pursuant to O.C.G.A. § 16‑6‑5.1(g)(2). I hereby designate any misdemeanor offenses arising under O.C.G.A. §§ 16‑6‑5.1(c.1) and 16-6-5.1(g) and under O.C.G.A. §§ 16‑6‑5.1(c.1) and 16‑6‑5.1(g)(2) as offenses for which those charged are to be fingerprinted. The third misdemeanor offense is O.C.G.A. § 16-11-92(b). This Code section provides that when any person intentionally coerces– orally, in writing, or electronically– another individual who is more than 18 years of age to distribute any photograph, video, or other image that depicts any individual in a state of nudity or engaged in sexually explicit conduct, that person has committed the offense of sexual extortion, which is a misdemeanor of a high and aggravated nature pursuant to O.C.G.A. § 16-11-92(c)(1). Upon a second or subsequent conviction of sexual extortion, that person shall be guilty of a felony pursuant to O.C.G.A. § 16-11-92(c)(2). I hereby designate misdemeanor offenses arising under O.C.G.A. § 16-11-92(b) as offenses for which those charged are to be fingerprinted. I trust that my revisions of the specific designations of those offenses for which persons charged with violations are to be fingerprinted will aid you in discharging your duties pursuant to the Georgia Crime Information Act. Prepared by: Rebecca Dobras Assistant Attorney General