Man Arrested in Georgia For Over 300 Child Sex Crimes

A Florida man has been arrested in Gwinnett County on over 300 felony charges including possession of child pornography and conspiracy to transmit child pornography.

As a Georgia Sex Crimes Lawyer, I will focus on only one of the felonies faced by the suspect in the story above - furnishing obscene material to a minor.

Furnishing Obscene Material to a Minor in Georgia

Furnishing obscene material to a minor in Georgia is defined by Georgia Law in O.C.G.A. §16-12-100 as:

A person commits the crime of electronically furnishing obscene materials to minors if

1. Knowing or having good reason to know the character of the material furnished, the person electronically furnishes to an individual whom the person knows or should have known is a minor:

• Any picture, photograph, drawing, or similar visual representation or image of a person or portion of a human body which depicts sexually explicit nudity, sexual conduct, or sadomasochistic abuse and which is harmful to minors; or
• Any written or aural matter that contains material of the nature described in subparagraph (A) of this paragraph or contains explicit verbal descriptions or narrative accounts of sexual conduct, sexual excitement, or sadomasochistic abuse;

2. The offensive portions of the material electronically furnished to the minor are not merely an incidental part of an otherwise non-offending whole;

3. The material furnished to the minor, taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value; and

4. The material furnished to the minor, taken as a whole, is harmful to minors in that it appeals to and incites prurient interest.

A person who is convicted of electronically furnishing obscene materials to minors in Georgia will be guilty of a misdemeanor of a high and aggravated nature. This means the penalties can include up to $5,000 in fines, 12 months in jail, or both.

Legally, obscene material can be determined from the following test:

• Whether the average person, applying contemporary community standards, taken as a whole, it predominately appeals to the prurient interest, that is, a shameful or morbid interest in nudity, sex, or excretion
• Whether the material taken as a whole lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value; and
• Whether the material depicts or describes in a patently offensive, way sexual conduct, as specifically defined by applicable state law.

Practice Note

Sex crimes in Georgia are taken incredibly seriously especially when a child is involved. If you or a loved one has been accused of committing a sex crime, call our offices now.