Criminal lawyer convinces Georgia Supreme Court to reverse sex offense conviction
On Monday, the Supreme Court of Georgia reversed the conviction of a high school teacher who had a sexual relationship with a 16-year-old student. The court overturned the conviction after determining that the teacher should have been allowed to argue that the student consented to the sexual activity.
The Atlanta Journal Constitution has the story.
Melissa Lee Chase, 28, was convicted of sexual assault of a person enrolled in school. Chase was a respected teacher and coach at Harlem High School which sits just outside of Augusta. However, she developed a romantic relationship with a 16-year-old female student between August and November of 2006. The student’s mom found a note in her daughter’s purse written by Chase. The mother called the police and Chase was arrested as a result. At Chase’s bench trial, the girl testified that she initiated the relationship and pushed the issue. However, Chase was not allowed to argue that the girl consented to the sexual acts. Under Georgia law, a person may be sentenced up to 30 years in prison but no less than 10 for having a sex with a student. Chase was sentenced to the minimum 10 years with five years on probation. She would also have to register as a sex offender.
On appeal, the appellate court agreed that consent cannot be a defense to having sex with a student. However, the Supreme Court of Georgia disagreed. The age of consent in Georgia is 16. This means it is generally not a crime to have sexual contact with anyone who is 16 or older. Yet, the Court noted that the crime Chase was convicted of would make it illegal for a teacher to have sex with a student of any age. The Court gave the hypothetical that under the law a 30 year old college professor could be sentenced to 30 years for having a sexual relationship with a 50 year old student.
The Court refused to adopt such a reading of the statute calling it “truly absurd and unjust.” Instead, the court found that the statute does not prohibit the defense of consent, and that sex with a 16-year-old is generally not a violation of the law. Thus, consent is a viable defense in such cases so long as the student has reached the age of consent.
Two justices, Carley and Thompson, argue that the Court’s ruling produced a disturbing result. They believe that the statute was enacted to protect students from exploitation by teachers, and that the Court’s ruling strips students of that protection.
Our firm has represented many people, including teachers, doctors and other professionals charged with this offense. The Court's ruling in this case will, hopefully, allow a more common sense application of this statute in the future.
Pate & Brody is an accomplished Georgia law firm with offices in Atlanta, Macon and Madison. Our lawyers are dedicated to pursuing justice for people charged with serious crimes. We have successfully represented clients facing serious federal criminal charges and state criminal charges in courts across Georgia. Our lawyers have been recognized on the list of Georgia's "Super Lawyers", and included among Georgia's "Legal Elite" by Georgia Trend Magazine. Page Pate was recently the Chairman of the Criminal Law Section of the Atlanta Bar Association.
