Penalties for Unauthorized Access to Records; Use of Records in Public and Criminal Proceedings

  1. Law
  2. Georgia Code
  3. Social Services
  4. Programs and Protection for Children and Youth
  5. Child Abuse Records
  6. Penalties for Unauthorized Access to Records; Use of Records in Public and Criminal Proceedings

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  1. Any person who authorizes or permits any person or agency not listed in Code Section 49-5-41 to have access to such records concerning reports of child abuse declared confidential by Code Section 49-5-40 shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.
  2. Any person who knowingly and under false pretense obtains or attempts to obtain records or reports of child abuse declared confidential by Code Section 49-5-40 or information contained therein except as authorized in this article or Code Section 19-7-5 shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.
  3. Records made confidential by Code Section 49-5-40 and information obtained from such records shall not be made a part of any record which is open to the public except that:
    1. A district attorney may use and make public that record or information in the course of any criminal prosecution for any offense which constitutes or results from child abuse; and
    2. The parties in a civil action may use and make public that record or information in the course of a civil action for childhood sexual abuse, as such term is defined in Code Section 9-3-33.1.

(Ga. L. 1975, p. 1135, § 3; Ga. L. 1990, p. 1778, § 3; Ga. L. 2015, p. 689, § 6/HB 17.)

The 2015 amendment, effective July 1, 2015, in subsection (c), in the introductory language, substituted "shall not" for "may not" and added a colon at the end; added the paragraph (c)(1) designator, and in subsection (c)(1), substituted "A district" for "a district" at the beginning, and added "; and" at the end; and added paragraph (c)(2).

Law reviews.

- For article, "Practical Challenges to Representing Unaccompanied Children Before the Atlanta Immigration Court," see 22 Ga. St. Bar J. 35 (April 2017).


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