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278 Ga. 4 (2004)
NCYL joined in an amicus brief submitted on January 14, 2004 by the Children’s Defense Fund and twelve others urging the Georgia Supreme Court to overturn the conviction and sentencing of Marcus Dixon for aggravated child molestation.
Dixon Marcus, at age 18, had sexual intercourse with a 15-year-old girl. Dixon was convicted of misdemeanor statutory rape and felony aggravated child molestation. He was sentenced to a mandatory ten-year prison term. Dixon appealed the conviction for aggravated child molestation.
Under Georgia law, the defendant’s act of sexual intercourse with a minor fell within the definition of statutory rape, punishable by not more than one year in prison. The same act could also be treated as aggravated child molestation, with a mandatory ten-year sentence. Amici argued that the court should apply the more specific statutory rape statute, and apply the rule of lenity to impose the lesser of the two penalties. The amici cited the many states which recognize that consensual sexual activity between teenagers should be distinguished from predatory sex crimes against children.
The Supreme Court of Georgia reversed the conviction for aggravated child molestation in a May 3, 2004 decision. Citing the rule of lenity, the court stated that due to the different degrees of punishment under the two applicable statutes, the defendant should be punished under the misdemeanor statutory rape statute rather than the felony aggravated child molestation statute.
Counsel: William D. Iverson, Claire G. Kunstling, Michael E. Paulhus, Covington & Burling
Updated April 21, 2010
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