Sex Crimes

Georgia sex crimes include allegations ranging from rape to sexual battery, and aggravated child molestation to sexual exploitation of children. The punishment varies greatly, but is almost always gravely serious. Many sex crimes, including child molestation offenses, carry lengthy mandatory minimum sentence for people convicted of those offenses.

Most sex crimes cases are won or lost in pretrial preparation. Our firm has persuaded prosecutors to dismiss serious sex crime allegations before trial, and sometimes even before an arrest. We have also won several sex crime cases at trial. We believe we won those trials because we have a system that focuses on the early evaluation of evidence and the credibility of the allegations. Our firm has relationships with the best investigators and forensic experts in the state who review the case and work with us to develop a strategy that will disprove false allegations and save our clients from a sex crime conviction.

Below are some of our notes on recent cases and trends in Georgia drug investigations, trials and appeals.


Page Pate Comments on Petitions for Removal from Georgia’s Sex Offender Registry Under New Law

In the sixteen months since Georgia’s new sex offender law went into effect, certain convicted sex offenders have been able to take advantage of new opportunities to be removed from the state’s sex offender registry. Before it passed the new legislation in 2010, Georgia was notorious for having some of the most severe sex offender laws in the country. In the wake of successful lawsuits brought against the state by civil rights advocacy groups, Georgia was forced to change numerous ...

Continue Reading


How to Get Off Georgia’s Sex Offender Registry for Low-Level Offenders

In 2010, Georgia was forced to make changes to its notoriously harsh sex offender laws after a number of lawsuits by civil rights groups successfully challenged the laws’ constitutionality. Certain limitations on where convicted sex offenders may live and application of new sex offender laws to those previously convicted were among the provisions that were overturned. One of the most important changes now provides certain convicted sex offenders with the possibility of having their names removed from the state’s sex offender ...

Continue Reading


Georgia child pornography sweep results in search warrants and many arrests

On Tuesday, federal and state law enforcement officers began arresting individuals across Georgia accused of sharing child pornography online. The statewide sweep spanned 37 counties and included the cities of Kingsland, Villa Rica, Augusta, Canton as well as many others. Officers expect to net approximately 55 arrests before the sweep has concluded. In addition to making arrests, police are looking to seize computers, hard drives, DVDs and any electronic storage devices that may hold child pornography. The investigation, known ...

Continue Reading


Child pornography arrests skyrocket as penalties grow harsher

In the past five years, the number of prosecutions for child pornography has increased by nearly 40 percent as the sentences doled out by judges have become more severe. In recent years, however, many legal scholars and some judges have begun to question the wisdom of such harsh sentences. The dramatic upswing in cases began in 1996 when Congress passed a mandatory minimum sentence of 5 years for anyone convicted of possessing child porn. The U.S. Sentencing Guidelines ...

Continue Reading