Civil Claims for Sexual Assault in Georgia: Holding Perpetrators and Enablers Accountable

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A criminal prosecution is brought by the State to punish an offender. A civil claim is brought by the survivor to recover damages, and it can reach defendants that a prosecution of the offender does not: an employer, a school, a property owner, or another institution whose own conduct made the abuse possible. Georgia law treats those claims differently depending on who the defendant is and when the abuse occurred. A claim against the person who committed the act, a claim against an employer or institution, a claim against a property owner for a third person’s crime, and a claim for abuse in childhood each rest on separate statutory text, and the filing deadlines differ between them.

Two Proceedings, Two Measures of Proof

The two proceedings use different measures of proof. Under OCGA 24-14-3, “[e]xcept as provided in Code Section 51-1-29.5 or Code Section 51-12-5.1, in all civil proceedings, a preponderance of evidence shall be considered sufficient to produce mental conviction,” while “[i]n criminal proceedings, a greater strength of mental conviction shall be held necessary to justify a verdict of guilty.” A civil claim is therefore measured against a lower standard than the criminal charge for the same act. Punitive damages are the civil exception that matters here: they require clear and convincing evidence under OCGA 51-12-5.1(b).

The Claim Against the Person Who Committed the Act

A survivor may sue the person who committed the act directly. Punitive damages in that claim require clear and convincing proof of aggravated conduct, such as willful misconduct, malice, or wantonness (OCGA 51-12-5.1(b)). The ordinary $250,000 limit does not apply where the defendant is found to have acted with the specific intent to cause harm, but those uncapped damages can be assessed only against an active tort-feasor, not against any other defendant (OCGA 51-12-5.1(f), (g)).

Claims Against Employers and Other Institutions

OCGA 34-7-20 addresses an employer’s duty in choosing and keeping employees: “The employer is bound to exercise ordinary care in the selection of employees and not to retain them after knowledge of incompetency.” Under OCGA 51-2-2, a person is liable for torts that a servant commits by the person’s command or within the scope of the person’s business, whether negligent or intentional.

Georgia’s mandatory-reporting statute provides that “[a]ny person or official required by subsection (c) of this Code section to report a suspected case of child abuse who knowingly and willfully fails to do so shall be guilty of a misdemeanor” (OCGA 19-7-5(h)).

Negligent Security When a Third Person Commits the Act

When the claim rests on a property owner’s failure to keep premises safe from a third person’s wrongful conduct, Georgia’s negligent security article applies to causes of action arising on or after April 21, 2025 (OCGA 51-3-50 et seq.; SB 68, Section 9(b)). It requires proof that the attack was reasonably foreseeable, through a particularized warning or known prior similar conduct, that it came from the attacker exploiting a specific physical condition of the premises known to the owner, and that the owner failed to exercise ordinary care to remedy it (OCGA 51-3-51), and it directs the jury to apportion fault to the attacker as well as the owner (OCGA 51-3-56). The article is otherwise the exclusive negligent-security remedy against owners or occupiers, but it expressly leaves in place claims under OCGA 51-1-56 and any other recognized theory, negligence and nuisance among them, tied to an alleged violation of OCGA 16-5-46, the trafficking statute (OCGA 51-3-53(a), (b)).

Deadlines, Including Claims for Abuse in Childhood

The period for an action for injuries to the person is two years after the right of action accrues (OCGA 9-3-33).

OCGA 9-3-33.1 governs claims for childhood sexual abuse. It defines the term by lists of offenses that differ for abuse before and after July 1, 2015, and the act must have occurred “when the plaintiff was under 18 years of age.” The list in subsection (b)(1), for abuse on or after July 1, 2015, includes rape, aggravated sodomy, child molestation and aggravated child molestation (with stated exceptions), incest, aggravated sexual battery, and statutory rape “if the defendant was 21 years of age or older at the time of the act.”

For abuse committed on or after July 1, 2015, the action must be commenced either “[o]n or before the date the plaintiff attains the age of 23 years” or “[w]ithin two years from the date that the plaintiff knew or had reason to know of such abuse and that such abuse resulted in injury to the plaintiff as established by competent medical or psychological evidence” (OCGA 9-3-33.1(b)(2)(A)).

For abuse committed before July 1, 2015, the action “shall be commenced on or before the date the plaintiff attains the age of 23 years,” in a provision that also refers to “subsection (d) of this Code section as it existed on June 30, 2017” (OCGA 9-3-33.1(a)(2)). An editor’s note states that “[f]ormer subsection (d) was repealed on its own terms effective July 1, 2017.”

The section also sets a standard for claims against an entity, where the person who committed the abuse “was a volunteer or employee of an entity that owed a duty of care to the plaintiff, or the person and the plaintiff were engaged in some activity over which such entity had control.” If the action was commenced under the age-23 track, damages against the entity are awarded “only if by a preponderance of the evidence there is a finding of negligence on the part of such entity” (OCGA 9-3-33.1(c)(2)). If it was commenced under the two-year discovery track, damages against the entity are awarded only on a preponderance finding “that there was gross negligence on the part of such entity, that the entity knew or should have known of the alleged conduct giving rise to the civil action and such entity failed to take remedial action” (OCGA 9-3-33.1(c)(3)).

For example, imagine a survivor who was ten years old in 2016 when abuse within the definition in subsection (b)(1) occurred. Turning 23 in 2029 marks the last day of the age-23 track. A claim filed after that date would have to fit the two-year discovery track, and a claim against an entity filed on that track carries the gross-negligence standard described above.

Trial Procedure

In an action for bodily injury or wrongful death, any party may elect a two-phase trial by written demand before the pretrial order, with fault decided first and damages second (OCGA 51-12-15(a)). The court may reject the election only on an opposing party’s motion and only on one of two findings: that the plaintiff was injured by an alleged sexual offense and would likely suffer serious psychological or emotional distress from testifying more than once, or that less than $150,000 is in controversy (OCGA 51-12-15(b)). The first ground speaks directly to sexual assault claims.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does the criminal case pause the civil deadline?
It can. For a tort claim by the victim of an alleged crime committed in Georgia, the limitation period is tolled from the date of the crime until the prosecution becomes final or otherwise ends, for no more than six years, except as OCGA 9-3-33.1 provides (OCGA 9-3-99).

Can a court protect a survivor from embarrassing discovery?
Yes. On motion and for good cause, a court may enter the order justice requires to protect a party or other person in discovery from annoyance, embarrassment, oppression, or undue burden or expense (OCGA 9-11-26(c)).

Are trafficking survivors treated differently under the negligent security statute?
Yes, in two ways. The statute preserves other claims connected to an alleged violation of OCGA 16-5-46, and its exception for a person injured while committing a crime “shall not apply to a victim of a violation of Code Section 16-5-46” (OCGA 51-3-53(b); OCGA 51-3-54(5)(B)).

What happens when a childhood abuse claim is filed after age 23?
On the discovery track, “the court shall determine from admissible evidence in a pretrial finding when the discovery of the alleged childhood sexual abuse occurred,” and the finding “shall be made within six months of the filing of the civil action” (OCGA 9-3-33.1(b)(2)(B)).

  • OCGA 24-14-3 (naming OCGA 51-1-29.5 and 51-12-5.1 as exceptions)
  • OCGA 51-12-5.1(b), (f), (g)
  • OCGA 34-7-20; OCGA 51-2-2; OCGA 19-7-5(h)
  • OCGA 51-3-50 et seq. (cited: 51-3-51, 51-3-53(a), (b), 51-3-54(5)(B), 51-3-56); SB 68, 2025 Ga. Laws, Section 9(b) (applicability)
  • OCGA 9-3-33; OCGA 9-3-99; OCGA 9-3-33.1
  • OCGA 51-12-15(a), (b); OCGA 9-11-26(c)

Disclaimer

This article provides general information about civil claims arising from sexual assault under Georgia law. It is not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Which claims are available, and which deadlines and standards apply, depend on the specific facts, the age of the survivor when the abuse occurred, and the date of the acts. A survivor should consult a licensed Georgia attorney about the particular situation.

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