Aggravated sexual battery charges (O.C.G.A. § 16-6-22.2) are much more severe than sexual battery charges. Oftentimes, the act that escalates sexual battery charges to aggravated sexual battery charges is small. There are 4 essential elements of aggravated sexual battery that the state must prove:
Penetration,
Of the sexual organ or anus of another person,
Intentionally, and
Without the consent of that person.
In this context, a foreign object means anything other than the sexual organ of a person, such as fingers or some other object. Full penetration is not required and even the slightest penetration will suffice for purposes of the statute. Because of this, the line between sexual battery and aggravated sexual battery is oftentimes extremely thin. For example, if a person’s fingers touch the surface or area around the female sex organ without the female’s consent, that would be considered sexual battery. But if the person even slightly enters the opening of the female sex organ with their fingers, that would be considered aggravated sexual battery. In this example, instead of facing misdemeanor charges, the person would be facing severe felony charges with a punishment up to life imprisonment.
As the above example illustrates, the punishment for aggravated sexual battery is much more substantial than sexual battery. If convicted of aggravated sexual battery, a person will be sentenced to imprisonment for life or a split sentence of 25 years to life followed by probation for life after release from prison. Similar to rape charges, the mandatory minimum of 25 years cannot be reduced by the court or by way of parole. The person will also be required to register as a sex offender if and when they are released from prison.