Human Trafficking in Georgia: Penalties, Record Relief, and Victim Rights

Human trafficking in Georgia is a felony punishable by 10 years to life in prison, with mandatory minimums that climb to 25 years when the victim is a child or a person with a developmental disability. The state’s laws run parallel to federal trafficking statutes, and both can apply to the same conduct. Georgia also gives survivors specific tools to rebuild: a way to erase convictions for crimes they were forced to commit, a civil claim against their traffickers, and, for foreign nationals, access to a federal visa that leads to permanent residency.

How the Crime Is Defined

Under O.C.G.A. § 16-5-46, trafficking covers two kinds of exploitation: labor servitude and sexual servitude. The underlying conduct is the same in both — knowingly recruiting, transporting, harboring, or maintaining another person for the purpose of exploitation. What differs is what the trafficker forces the victim to do.

Labor servitude means compelling someone to perform work or services through coercion or deception. Georgia defines coercion broadly enough to reach threats of bodily harm, physical restraint, and the confiscation or destruction of government-issued identification such as a passport, which is a common tactic in labor trafficking of foreign nationals.¹

Sexual servitude means compelling sexually explicit conduct for which anything of value is given, promised, or received. “Anything of value” is deliberately wide: cash, drugs, housing, or any other benefit exchanged in connection with the exploitation.¹

Minors and People With Developmental Disabilities

When the victim is under 18, prosecutors do not have to prove force, fraud, or coercion. Any minor involved in a commercial sex act is a trafficking victim as a matter of law. The same automatic protection covers people with developmental disabilities. A trafficker cannot defend by arguing the victim “consented.”¹

Georgia’s Safe Harbor protections, enacted through Rachel’s Law, go further and direct the system to treat sexually exploited children as victims rather than offenders, with a dedicated fund for care, housing, health services, and rehabilitative support.

Prison Time and Fines

Georgia’s sentencing structure escalates with the age of the victim and the offender’s history.

Trafficking an adult for labor or sexual servitude is punishable by 10 to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $100,000.¹
When the victim is under 18 or has a developmental disability, the mandatory minimum rises to 25 years, the maximum is 50 years or life, and the fine ceiling is the same $100,000.¹
An offender with a prior sexual felony conviction who is then convicted of trafficking for sexual servitude faces life imprisonment, or a split sentence of imprisonment followed by probation for life with mandatory electronic monitoring.¹

A conviction for trafficking for sexual servitude counts as a “dangerous sexual offense” under Georgia law, which triggers mandatory registration on the state sex offender registry.²

When Federal Charges Apply

Trafficking cases often cross state or international lines, and federal prosecutors can bring charges alongside or instead of state charges. The federal penalties are structured differently and are often more severe.

Under 18 U.S.C. § 1591, federal sex trafficking carries a 15-year mandatory minimum, up to life, when force, fraud, or coercion was used or the victim was under 14. If the victim was 14 to 17 and no force was used, the minimum is 10 years with a possible life sentence.³

Federal forced labor charges under 18 U.S.C. § 1589 carry up to 20 years. If the trafficking causes a victim’s death, or involves kidnapping or aggravated sexual abuse, the sentence can reach any term of years or life.⁴

Clearing a Record for Crimes Committed While Being Trafficked

Trafficking victims are often forced to commit crimes — prostitution, drug offenses, theft — under their trafficker’s control. Those convictions then block employment, housing, and recovery for years. Georgia addressed this through Senate Bill 435 (2020) and SB 565 (2022), which eliminated the waiting periods and created two pathways to clear a record.

Vacating a Conviction

If a conviction was a direct result of being trafficked, you can petition the original sentencing court under O.C.G.A. § 17-10-21 to vacate it. Misdemeanors and felonies both qualify, and there is no time limit on filing.⁵

The petition goes on a form created by the Attorney General and is served on the original prosecutor. Supporting documentation helps but is not required. Records from federal or state proceedings, or an affidavit from a counselor, clergy member, or medical professional, are treated as a rebuttable presumption that you were trafficked.⁵

If the prosecutor consents in writing or fails to respond within 30 days, the court vacates the conviction without a hearing and issues an order restricting your criminal history record at the same time. If the prosecutor objects, the court holds a hearing within 90 days and decides by a preponderance of the evidence whether the offense was a direct result of trafficking.⁵ Any fines and fees you paid in connection with a vacated conviction must be returned to you.

Restricting and Sealing a Record

If the offense was committed while you were being trafficked but was not a direct result of the trafficking, you may still petition under O.C.G.A. § 35-3-37 to restrict and seal your criminal history. Restriction removes the record from public view and standard background checks while leaving it accessible to law enforcement.⁶

The process mirrors vacatur: the Attorney General’s form, a 30-day window for the prosecutor to consent or object, and a preponderance-of-the-evidence standard if contested. The Georgia Crime Information Center charges no fee for restricting records under this provision.⁶

Suing the Trafficker

Federal law gives trafficking victims the right to sue their traffickers, and anyone who knowingly profited from the trafficking, in federal court. Under 18 U.S.C. § 1595, a victim can recover compensatory damages and reasonable attorney’s fees. The civil remedy reaches past the trafficker to businesses, landlords, or other parties who financially benefited and knew or should have known trafficking was involved.⁷

You have 10 years from when the cause of action arose to file. If you were a minor at the time of the trafficking, the deadline is 10 years after you turn 18.⁷

If a criminal case is pending against the trafficker arising from the same conduct, the civil lawsuit is automatically paused until the criminal case concludes. The right to sue is preserved; the clock is just put on hold. Georgia’s Attorney General can also bring civil actions on behalf of state residents against sex traffickers in federal court.⁷

Immigration Status for Foreign-National Survivors

Foreign nationals trafficked into or within the United States may qualify for a T visa, a federal benefit created for trafficking survivors. T nonimmigrant status provides lawful status for up to four years and opens a path to a green card.⁸

To qualify, you generally must:

Be a victim of a severe form of trafficking as defined under federal law.
Be physically present in the United States because you were trafficked here.
Have complied with reasonable requests from law enforcement to assist in the investigation or prosecution. Victims under 18 and those unable to cooperate due to physical or psychological trauma are exempt.
Show you would face unusual and severe harm if removed from the country.

Waivers of inadmissibility are available for applicants who would otherwise be ineligible for immigration benefits.⁸

After three years in T status with continuous physical presence, you can apply for a green card. You must show good moral character throughout and continued cooperation with law enforcement. If the investigation or prosecution ends sooner, you can apply once the U.S. Attorney General certifies the case is closed.⁹

State Victim Compensation

The Georgia Crime Victims Compensation Program, run by the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council, can provide up to $25,000 for trafficking-related expenses after other resources are exhausted. The program typically covers costs like medical treatment, counseling, and lost wages. Eligibility generally requires that the crime was reported to law enforcement, though exceptions may apply for trafficking victims given the coercive circumstances of their exploitation.¹⁰

Who to Call

If someone is in immediate danger, call 911. For non-emergencies, two hotlines are staffed around the clock:

Georgia Statewide Human Trafficking Hotline: (866) 363-4842. Connects callers to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation for tips or to victim service providers for support.¹¹
National Human Trafficking Hotline: 1-888-373-7888. Available 24/7 in more than 200 languages, with confidential support, referrals, and online tip submission.¹²

The Georgia Attorney General’s office keeps the forms and instructions survivors need for vacatur and record restriction at law.georgia.gov.¹³

1
Justia. Georgia Code 16-5-46 – Trafficking of Persons for Labor or Sexual Servitude
2
Justia. Georgia Code 42-1-12 – State Sexual Offender Registry
3
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 1591 – Sex Trafficking of Children or by Force, Fraud, or Coercion
4
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 1589 – Forced Labor
5
FindLaw. Georgia Code 17-10-21 – Criminal Procedure
6
Justia. Georgia Code 35-3-37 – Criminal History Record Information
7
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 1595 – Civil Remedy
8
USCIS. Victims of Human Trafficking: T Nonimmigrant Status
9
USCIS. Green Card for a Victim of Trafficking (T Nonimmigrant)
10
Criminal Justice Coordinating Council. Victims Compensation
11
Criminal Justice Coordinating Council. Georgia Human Trafficking Resource List
12
U.S. Department of State. Domestic Trafficking Hotlines
13
Office of the Attorney General. Human Trafficking