Troublesome Bills That Passed

Radio Commentary, 90.7, 91.7 New Life FM, April 24, 2015 – By Sue Ella Deadwyler

In 2009 when House Judiciary Chairman Willard introduced H.B. 582 to decriminalize prostitution and other sexual conduct for anyone under 18 years old, it was assigned to his committee and died there. The next year, Senator Renee Unterman introduced S.B. 304 to decriminalize prostitution and other sexual conduct for anyone under the age of 16. Although she dropped the age to 16 instead of 18, she expanded the parameters of the previous bill by deeming sex offenders under 16 to be victims of sexual exploitation, thereby making them eligible for victim compensation benefits.

At the end of the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing for her bill, the members did not vote, but kept it on the agenda for their next meeting. Realizing her bill was not moving, she had the language transferred to the “unruly child” Code Section, where under-age illegal sexual conduct was listed alongside the offense of skipping school, which suggested that sexual offenses are no more serious than missing a day in school.

In February 2011, Representative Ed Lindsey introduced a much-more-sophisticated bill to do the same. His H.B. 200 “threw the book” at panderers and pimps, and increased by two years the age in Senator Unterman’s bill. So, he decriminalized prostitution, sodomy, pornography and other sexual conduct for anyone under 18, and included language making them eligible for victim compensation funds, as well. Since H.B. 200 passed the House and Senate and became law, law enforcement cannot detain anyone under 18 for participating in illegal sexual conduct; they cannot be charged for a sexual offense; and they become eligible for benefits as victims, even if they voluntarily participate; even if they are not forced, or coerced, or their conduct is not obtained through deceit. Even for voluntary sex offenders, being under age 18 is all they need to stay out of jail.

Conclusion. Under current law, sexually explicit conduct “obtained from a person under the age of 18 years” is defined as “servitude,” whether it is a voluntary act or is forcibly induced. That law should be amended to allow law enforcement to detain such sex offenders until their status can be determined. This year’s passage of S.B. 8 was an opportunity to allow law enforcement to hold sex offenders for 48 hours, to determine who IS or IS NOT a sex industry victim. That amendment was rejected this year, but the law could be amended in 2016 before voters are asked to ratify the constitutional amendment proposed in S.R. 7. For Georgia Insight I’m Sue Ella Deadwyler, your Capitol correspondent.