GA HB1458

Adds "clergy member" to Georgia's improper sexual contact statute (Code Section 16-6-5.1), allowing prosecution of ministers, pastors, priests, rabbis, imams, and other spiritual leaders who engage in sexual misconduct with persons under their pastoral care

Defines "clergy member" broadly to include licensed or unlicensed individuals who represent themselves as spiritual leaders or provide spiritual guidance, pastoral counseling, religious instruction, or spiritual direction in relationships of trust, confidence, or dependency

Creates a new category of prohibited conduct: sexual contact with someone who is "the subject of a clergy member's pastoral counseling or spiritual authority relationship"

First degree offense (sexually explicit conduct) carries 1-25 years imprisonment and up to $100,000 fine; penalties increase to 10-30 years for victims under 16, and 25-50 years if the victim is under 16 and physically injured or sodomy is involved

Second degree offense (sexual contact excluding sexually explicit conduct) is a high and aggravated misdemeanor, with enhanced penalties of 5-25 years and up to $25,000 fine when the victim is under 16; consent of the victim is not a defense