Section 19-15-1. Definitions

   As used in this chapter, the term:

   (1) "Abused" means subjected to child abuse.

   (2) "Child" means any person under 18 years of age.

   (3) "Child abuse" means:

      (A) Physical injury or death inflicted upon a child by a parent or caretaker thereof by other than accidental means; provided, however, physical forms of discipline may be used as long as there is no physical injury to the child;

      (B) Neglect or exploitation of a child by a parent or caretaker thereof;

      (C) Sexual abuse of a child; or

      (D) Sexual exploitation of a child.

   (4) "Child protection professional" means any person who is employed by the state or a political subdivision of the state as a law enforcement officer, school teacher, school administrator, or school counselor or who is employed to render services to children by the Department of Public Health, the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities, or the Department of Human Services or any county board of health, community service board, or county department of family and children services.

   (5) "Eligible deaths" means deaths meeting the criteria for review by a county child fatality review committee including deaths resulting from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, unintentional injuries, intentional injuries, medical conditions when unexpected or when unattended by a physician, or any manner that is suspicious or unusual.

   (6) "Investigation" in the context of child death includes all of the following:

      (A) A post-mortem examination which may be limited to an external examination or may include an autopsy;

      (B) An inquiry by law enforcement agencies having jurisdiction into the circumstances of the death, including a scene investigation and interview with the child's parents, guardian, or caretaker and the person who reported the child's death;

      (C) A review of information regarding the child and family from relevant agencies, professionals, and providers of medical care.

   (7) "Panel" means the Georgia Child Fatality Review Panel established pursuant to Code Section 19-15-4. The panel oversees the local child fatality review process and reports to the Governor on the incidence of child deaths with recommendations for prevention.

   (8) "Protocol committee" means a multidisciplinary, multiagency child abuse protocol committee established for a county pursuant to Code Section 19-15-2. The protocol committee is charged with developing local protocols to investigate and prosecute alleged cases of child abuse.

   (9) "Report" means a standardized form designated by the panel which is required for collecting data on child fatalities reviewed by local child fatality review committees.

   (10) "Review committee" means a multidisciplinary, multiagency child fatality review committee established for a county or circuit pursuant to Code Section 19-15-3. The review committee is charged with reviewing all eligible child deaths to determine manner and cause of death and if the death was preventable.

   (11) "Sexual abuse" means a person's employing, using, persuading, inducing, enticing, or coercing any minor who is not that person's spouse to engage in any act which involves:

      (A) Sexual intercourse, including genital-genital, oral-genital, anal-genital, or oral-anal, whether between persons of the same or opposite sex;

      (B) Bestiality;

      (C) Masturbation;

      (D) Lewd exhibition of the genitals or pubic area of any person;

      (E) Flagellation or torture by or upon a person who is nude;

      (F) Condition of being fettered, bound, or otherwise physically restrained on the part of a person who is nude;

      (G) Physical contact in an act of apparent sexual stimulation or gratification with any person's clothed or unclothed genitals, pubic area, or buttocks or with a female's clothed or unclothed breasts;

      (H) Defecation or urination for the purpose of sexual stimulation; or

      (I) Penetration of the vagina or rectum by any object except when done as part of a recognized medical procedure.

"Sexual abuse" shall not include consensual sex acts involving persons of the opposite sex when the sex acts are between minors or between a minor and an adult who is not more than three years older than the minor. This provision shall not be deemed or construed to repeal any law concerning the age or capacity to consent.

   (12) "Sexual exploitation" means conduct by any person who allows, permits, encourages, or requires that child to engage in:

      (A) Prostitution, as defined in Code Section 16-6-9; or

      (B) Sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing any visual or print medium depicting such conduct, as defined in Code Section 16-12-100.

Code 1981, § 19-1-1, enacted by Ga. L. 1990, p. 1785, § 1; Code 1981, § 19-15-1, as redesignated by Ga. L. 1991, p. 94, § 19; Ga. L. 1993, p. 1695, § 2; Ga. L. 1993, p. 1941, § 1; Ga. L. 2001, p. 1158, § 1; Ga. L. 2009, p. 453, § 2-8/HB 228; Ga. L. 2009, p. 733, § 2/SB 69; Ga. L. 2011, p. 705, § 6-3/HB 214.