What Is Sodomy? Definition Under Georgia Law

Sodomy is a criminal offense under Georgia law, defined as performing or submitting to a sexual act involving the sex organs of one person and the mouth or anus of another. That statutory text, not the everyday usage, controls in a Georgia courtroom.

The same Code section makes the act aggravated sodomy when it happens with force and against the will of the other person. That line drives the entire case. Georgia's statute no longer reaches private, consensual conduct between adults, so the sodomy definition a dictionary supplies and the sodomy meaning that matters to a prosecutor are not the same thing. Our page on Georgia sodomy laws covers how prosecutors bring these charges and how they are defended.

What Sodomy Means Under Georgia Law

The state must prove every element beyond a reasonable doubt. For the basic offense, the elements are short. The state must show a sexual act, and it must show the specific contact the statute describes. That contact involves the sex organs of one person and the mouth or anus of another, which reaches both oral sex and anal sex. Consent is not an element of that subsection.

Aggravated sodomy asks more of the state. Prosecutors must also prove force and that the act was against the other person's will. The alleged victim's age can supply the aggravating factor instead. Where a person cannot legally consent because of age or incapacity, apparent agreement is not a defense.

A narrow exception covers close-in-age conduct. The alleged victim must be at least 13 and under 16. The accused must be 18 or younger and no more than four years older. The offense is then a misdemeanor. Georgia sets the age of consent at 16, and our guide to the age of consent and statutory rape explains how related charges arise.

Many readers arrive searching for the sodomized meaning. In legal usage, a person is sodomized when the act is committed against them without consent. Georgia does not charge that as the ordinary offense. Prosecutors charge it as aggravated sodomy under the same Code section. The word also carries a historical and religious usage with no bearing on criminal law. This page addresses only the Georgia criminal-law definition.

Sodomy vs. Aggravated Sodomy in Georgia

Georgia appellate courts read force broadly. Intimidation, threats, or a show of authority may show force. Physical violence is not required. A child below the age of consent cannot consent as a matter of law, so the law treats the act as forcible no matter what agreement is claimed. Aggravated sodomy sits among Georgia's serious violent felonies under O.C.G.A. 17-10-6.1, and that classification drives the exposure. Which sodomy crime a grand jury returns depends on the specific facts alleged.

Is Sodomy Still Illegal in Georgia?

Yes, but the statute reaches far less conduct than its text suggests. The Georgia Supreme Court held in Powell v. State (1998) that applying the statute to private, non-commercial, consensual conduct between adults violates the right to privacy under the Georgia Constitution. The United States Supreme Court reached a parallel conclusion under the federal Due Process Clause in Lawrence v. Texas (2003).

Neither decision erased the statute. The text still sits in the Georgia code, and prosecutions continue routinely in Georgia superior courts. The state still charges these offenses where consent is absent, where a party cannot legally consent because of age or incapacity, where force is alleged, or where the conduct is commercial. Related conduct can draw separate counts, such as public indecency for a sexual act in a public place, or a pandering charge where prostitution is alleged.

Georgia also punishes the asking. Under O.C.G.A. § 16-6-15, solicitation of sodomy is charged when a person solicits another to perform or submit to a sodomy act, and in the ordinary case it is a misdemeanor, with felony exposure only where the person solicited is under 18 and money or other value is offered. A solicitation lawyer defends that count differently from a sodomy charge, because the case turns on what was said rather than on what happened.

Georgia Sodomy Law and the Long Road to Reform

Georgia was an early battleground for constitutional challenges to sodomy laws. The state's law dated to 1833, and it used much the same definition the code carries today. Those words read as neutral, yet enforcement fell almost entirely on same-sex couples. The 1986 case of Bowers v. Hardwick arose in Georgia, and a divided Court upheld the law. Georgia kept its statute on the books for another twelve years after that ruling.

Penalties and Collateral Consequences of a Sodomy Conviction

A person convicted of sodomy faces imprisonment for not less than one and not more than 20 years. Aggravated sodomy carries life imprisonment. A split sentence of at least 25 years followed by probation for life is the other option.

The consequences outlast the sentence. Georgia's sex offender registration law lists both offenses among those that trigger registration. Placement on the Georgia sex offender registry may bring residency limits near schools, employment restrictions, and a public listing anyone can search.

Those effects reach into ordinary life. Licensing boards may act on their own. Landlords and employers see the conviction on routine background checks. Non-citizens could face immigration consequences, including removal. A felony conviction also ends firearm rights. A registrable conviction is generally not eligible for record restriction in Georgia, so the record may follow a person for good.

Outcomes turn on the charge level, the defendant's record, and judicial discretion. Nothing here predicts a result in any case.

How These Charges Are Defended in Georgia Courts

Kohn & Yager LLC has defended sex crime allegations in Georgia superior courts since 1998. The line between a basic allegation and an aggravated sodomy indictment is often thin, and one contested fact about consent frequently decides it. A defense lawyer weighs each theory below against the evidence in the specific case.

Consent. Where the alleged victim was legally capable of consenting, and the conduct was private and non-commercial, Powell may place that conduct outside the statute.

Insufficient evidence. Many of these cases rest on a single uncorroborated account, and the state still carries the burden beyond a reasonable doubt.

Identity and alibi. Where an accusation names the wrong person, records placing the accused elsewhere may matter most.

False or mistaken allegations. Accusations sometimes surface during a contested custody or divorce proceeding. The timing and origin of the report may deserve close examination.

Constitutional challenges. How officers took a statement or ran a search may support a motion to suppress.

Forensic and interview challenges. Testing, chain of custody, and the methods used to interview a child witness are all open to scrutiny.

Whether any of these theories applies depends entirely on the evidence in the individual case. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

What to Do If You Are Under Investigation

Do not speak with investigators without counsel present. A request to come in for a friendly interview is an investigative step, not a courtesy.

Do not contact the complaining witness, directly or through friends and family. That contact can create new charges.

Preserve messages, call logs, and location data instead of deleting them. Deleted material can look like evidence of guilt, and preserved records sometimes support the defense.

These cases are often investigated for weeks before an arrest. That pre-arrest window is when defense involvement has the most room to affect how the case is charged.

Speak With a Georgia Sex Crimes Defense Attorney

Most readers arrive here to understand a word. A sodomy or aggravated sodomy accusation changes the picture, and so does word of an active investigation.

Kohn & Yager LLC defends sex offense charges in Georgia state courts and appears regularly in Fulton County and the surrounding metro Atlanta circuits. Our attorneys know how these cases are charged and negotiated locally. We will pursue every available defense.

A consultation is free and confidential. It covers what the investigation appears to involve and what steps make sense now. Reach out through the contact form on this site to start that conversation.

This article is general information about Georgia law, not legal advice about any particular case. Consult a licensed Georgia attorney about your own circumstances.

Frequently Asked Questions About Sodomy Charges in Georgia

Is sodomy still a crime in Georgia?

Yes. The statute remains in the Georgia code, and prosecutors still charge it. After Powell v. State and Lawrence v. Texas, the law no longer applies to private, consensual, non-commercial conduct between adults. It still applies where force, incapacity, a minor, or a commercial exchange is alleged.

What is the difference between sodomy and aggravated sodomy?

Aggravated sodomy adds force and a lack of consent to the basic offense. Conduct with a person under ten also triggers the aggravated form. Aggravated sodomy is a serious violent felony, and the sentencing exposure runs far longer than for the ordinary offense.

Does a sodomy conviction in Georgia require sex offender registration?

It may. Georgia's registration statute lists both sodomy and aggravated sodomy among the offenses that trigger registration. Registration brings residency restrictions near schools, employment limits, and a public listing. Whether it applies depends on the conviction entered and the facts the court finds.

Can consent be a defense to a sodomy charge in Georgia?

Sometimes. Consent between adults capable of giving it, in private and non-commercial circumstances, takes the conduct outside the statute's reach. Consent is not available where the alleged victim is under the age of consent or otherwise cannot legally agree. Spousal status is not a defense to aggravated sodomy.

What should I do if I am being investigated for a sodomy offense?

Contact a defense lawyer before speaking with investigators. Do not talk with police without counsel, do not contact the complaining witness, and preserve your messages and call records rather than deleting them.