O.C.G.A.

O.C.G.A. § 16-6-12 (2019)

Pandering

✓ O.C.G.A. — 2019 edition (Public.Resource.Org Release 73)
Code text and O.C.G.A. statutory annotations on this page reflect the 2019 Official Code of Georgia Annotated (Public.Resource.Org Release 73, 2019-08-21; public domain per Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). The Syfert case-law annotations in Notes of Decisions, below, are current.
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A person commits the offense of pandering when he or she solicits a person to perform an act of prostitution in his or her own behalf or in behalf of a third person or when he or she knowingly assembles persons at a fixed place for the purpose of being solicited by others to perform an act of prostitution.

History

Code 1933, § 26-2016, enacted by Ga. L. 1968, p. 1249, § 1; Ga. L. 1970, p. 236, § 5; Ga. L. 1988, p. 1797, § 1; Ga. L. 1998, p. 1301, § 1.

Annotations

Cross references. - Actions for childhood sexual abuse, § 9-3-33.1. Law reviews. - For review of 1998

legislation relating to crimes and offenses, see 15 Ga. St. U. L. Rev. 69 (1998). For article, ‘‘Misdemeanor Sentencing in Georgia,’’ see 7 Ga. St. B. J. 8 (2001). For article, ‘‘Crimes and Offenses: Crimes Against the Person,’’ see 28 Ga. St. U. L. Rev. 131 (2011).

JUDICIAL DECISIONS Editor’s notes. - In light of the similarity of the statutory provisions, decisions under Ga. L. 1943, p. 568, (see now

O.C.G.A. § 44-7-18), are included in the annotations for this Code section. Section is substantially related to

achievement of important governmental objectives. - O.C.G.A. § 16-6-12 is one part of a broad statutory scheme that serves important governmental objectives, and is substantially related to achievement of these objectives. Fluker v. State, 248 Ga. 290, 282 S.E.2d 112 (1981), appeal dismissed, 455 U.S. 1009, 102 S. Ct. 1699, 72 L. Ed. 2d 127 (1982). Equal protection. - Sex-based discriminatory language of section prior to 1988 amendment did not violate equal protection. Fluker v. State, 248 Ga. 290, 282 S.E.2d 112 (1981), appeal dismissed, 455 U.S. 1009, 102 S. Ct. 1699, 72 L. Ed. 2d 127 (1982). Prostitution includes solicitation of carnal intercourse in unnatural way. - Term ‘‘prostitution’’ as defined by the legislature does not mean solely sexual intercourse in the natural way, but includes solicitation of carnal intercourse in an unnatural way. Price v. State, 76 Ga. App. 108, 45 S.E.2d 84 (1947) (decided under Ga. L. 1943, p. 568). Indiscriminate illegal intercourse with number of men not necessarily

involved. - ‘‘Prostitution’’ as used in statute relating to solicitation of another for the purpose of prostitution does not necessarily involve indiscriminate illegal intercourse with a number of men. Price v. State, 76 Ga. App. 108, 45 S.E.2d 84 (1947) (decided under Ga. L. 1943, p. 568). Pandering as condition of employment. - Evidence was sufficient to convict the defendant of pandering because requiring sexual activities as a condition of employment constituted pandering; and the defendant solicited the second victim to engage in sexual acts with the defendant and, in exchange, gave the victim a paying job and permitted the victim to keep that job. Kea v. State, 344 Ga. App. 251, 810 S.E.2d 152 (2018). Evidence sufficient. - Defendant’s solicitation of the victim to perform sexual acts, which did not expressly exclude sexual intercourse, supported conviction of offense of pandering. McGee v. State, 165 Ga. App. 423, 299 S.E.2d 573 (1983). Cited in Blanton v. State, 150 Ga. App. 559, 258 S.E.2d 174 (1979).

RESEARCH REFERENCES Am. Jur. 2d. - 63C Am. Jur. 2d, Prostitution, § 17 et seq. C.J.S. - 73 C.J.S., Prostitution and Related Offenses, § 14 et seq. ALR. - Constitutionality and construction of pandering acts, 74 A.L.R. 311. White Slave Traffic Act (Mann Act) as affecting constitutionality or application of state statutes dealing with prostitution, 161 A.L.R. 356. Operation of nude-model photographic studio as offense, 48 A.L.R.3d 1313.

Validity and construction of statute or ordinance proscribing solicitation for purposes of prostitution, lewdness, or assignation - modern cases, 77 A.L.R.3d 519. Validity, construction, and application of state statute forbidding unfair trade practice or competition by discriminatory allowance of rebates, commissions, discounts, or the like, 41 A.L.R.4th 675.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 14 cases (6 in the last 5 years), 1983–2025 · leading case: Harris v. State, 314 Ga. 238 (Ga. 2022).
Harris v. State, 314 Ga. 238 (Ga. 2022). · cites it 11× “See OCGA §§ 16-6-12 (“A person commits the offense of pandering 67 when he or she solicits a person to perform an act of prostitution in his or her own behalf .”
KEA v. the STATE (Three Cases)., 810 S.E.2d 152 (Ga. Ct. App. 2018). · cites it 6× “1 ), pandering ( OCGA § 16-6-12 ), and use of a license plate to conceal the identity of a vehicle ( OCGA § 40-2-5 ).”
Howard v. State, 527 S.E.2d 194 (Ga. 2000). · cites it 4× “Thus, he ought to have been charged with pandering under OCGA § 16-6-12. He then told his victim that "she was going to" perform oral sex on him, and then he "tried to force her to perform oral sex.”
Roberts v. State, 530 S.E.2d 535 (Ga. Ct. App. 2000). · cites it 2× “17 See OCGA § 16-6-12. 18 Brooks v. State, 230 Ga.”
McGee v. State, 299 S.E.2d 573 (Ga. Ct. App. 1983). · cites it 2× “Defendant then exposed himself, masturbated in front of her and left when he had finished. • 1. Defendant’s first contention is that he is not guilty of pandering because he did not solicit the woman to “perform an act of prostitution” (Code Ann.”
Dunn v. State, 706 S.E.2d 596 (Ga. Ct. App. 2011). · cites it 2× “A Fulton County jury found Jeffrey Dunn guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of statutory rape, OCGA § 16-6-3 (a); solicitation of sodomy involving a person under the age of 18, OCGA § 16-6-15 (a), (b); and pandering, OCGA § 16-6-12. Dunn appeals from the denial of his motion for…”
McGaha v. State, 471 S.E.2d 533 (Ga. Ct. App. 1996). · cites it 2× “McGaha was convicted on charges of pandering (OCGA § 16-6-12), public indecency (OCGA § 16-6-8 (b)), burglary (OCGA § 16-7-1 (a)), and theft by taking (OCGA § 16-8-2).”
Courtney Lofton v. State (Ga. Ct. App. 2025). · cites it 8× “2 See OCGA §§ 16-6-12, 16-6-13 (b) (2) (2022). This Court reviews questions of law, questions of statutory construction, constitutional issues, and pre-trial denials of demurrers to an indictment de novo.”
Derek Spencer v. State (Ga. Ct. App. 2025). · cites it 6× “]” Spencer was charged in Counts 7 and 8 with violations of OCGA § 16-6-12, pandering “for the said accused, in the County of Fulton and State of Georgia, on the 20th day of October, 2012, did solicit [victims], .”
Shavon Jabbar Prescott v. State (Ga. Ct. App. 2020). · cites it 4× “…of trafficking of persons for labor or sexual servitude (OCGA § 16-5-46) (2013), pimping (OCGA § 16-6-11), pandering (OCGA § 16-6-12), false imprisonment (OCGA § 16-5-41), aggravated assault with a deadly weapon (OCGA § 16-5-21) (2013), and giving false information to a law…”
Francisco Fajardo-Rebollar v. U.S. Attorney Gen. (11th Cir. 2023). · cites it 4× “Because his Georgia conviction for pandering under O.C.G.A. § 16-6-12 was a crime involving moral turpitude (“CIMT”) that rendered him ineligible for cancellation of removal, we affirm on that ground.”
State v. Enan E. Stillman (Ga. Ct. App. 2024). · cites it 4× “After Enan Stillman pled guilty to two counts of trafficking of persons for sexual servitude (OCGA § 16-5-46 (c)) and one count of pandering for person under 18 (OCGA § 16-6-12), the trial court vacated the trafficking charges based on the rule of lenity, and sentenced Stillman…”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.