Cartersville Police Lieutenant Accused of Sending Inappropriate Messages to Minors

Bartow County Court House

Cartersville, Ga. - A police officer in Cartersville, a municipality in Bartow County, has resigned after being accused of sending dozens of Snapchat messages and texts to minor girls.

Along with being a police lieutenant, he also worked at Cartersville Middle School as the school resource officer. He has admitted to sending the messages. The department has stated that they found the messages to be both “unprofessional and inappropriate.”

As of right now, the officer is not facing any criminal charges. However, as a Georgia Criminal Defense Lawyer, I know there are some potential charges he may end up facing. In today's post, I will outline the law behind one of the possible charges - sexual exploitation of a minor.

Sexual Exploitation of a Minor in Georgia

Sexual Exploitation of a Minor in Georgia is defined in the Georgia Code in O.C.G.A. §16-12-100. It lists out a number of ways a person can violate O.C.G.A. §16-12-100:

• It is unlawful for any person knowingly to employ, use, persuade, induce, entice, or coerce any minor to engage in or assist any other person to engage in any sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing any visual medium depicting such conduct.
• It is unlawful for any parent, legal guardian, or person having custody or control of a minor knowingly to permit the minor to engage in or to assist any other person to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing any visual medium depicting such conduct.
• It is unlawful for any person knowingly to employ, use, persuade, induce, entice, or coerce any minor to engage in or assist any other person to engage in any sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of any performance.
• It is unlawful for any parent, legal guardian, or person having custody or control of a minor knowingly to permit the minor to engage in or to assist any other person to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of any performance.
• It is unlawful for any person knowingly to create, reproduce, publish, promote, sell, distribute, give, exhibit, or possess with intent to sell or distribute any visual medium which depicts a minor or a portion of a minor's body engaged in any sexually explicit conduct.
• It is unlawful for any person knowingly to advertise, sell, purchase, barter, or exchange any medium, which provides information as to where any visual medium, which depicts a minor, or a portion of a minor's body engaged in any sexually explicit conduct can be found or purchased.
• It is unlawful for any person knowingly to bring or cause to be brought into this state any material, which depicts a minor, or a portion of a minor's body engaged in any sexually explicit conduct.
• It is unlawful for any person knowingly to possess or control any material, which depicts a minor, or a portion of a minor's body engaged in any sexually explicit conduct.

The offense of sexual exploitation can be charged as either a misdemeanor or a felony. The classification depends on the exact age of the minor and the intent of the visual medium. If a misdemeanor, then the penalty can include up to $1,000 and up to 12 months in jail. If a felony the penalty rises up to between five and twenty years in prison.

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