(a) Every child charged with an act which would be a felony if committed by an adult, other than those status offender crimes as defined in Code Section 15-11-2, shall be fingerprinted and photographed upon being taken into custody. Fingerprints and photographs of children shall be taken and filed separately from those of adults by law enforcement officials to be used in investigating the commission of crimes and to be made available as provided in this article and as may be directed by the court.

(b) All children sentenced to the custody of the Department of Corrections shall be fingerprinted. The fingerprinting of child inmates will be processed in accordance with the Department of Corrections' policies for adult inmates.

(c) Fingerprint files and photographs of children may be inspected by law enforcement officers when necessary for criminal justice purposes and for the discharge of their official duties. The names and addresses of children who have been fingerprinted or photographed and the offense or offenses charged shall be made available in the discretion of the court to the appropriate department of family and children services and school superintendent. This information may be disseminated by the appropriate school superintendent to the child's teachers and counselors in the superintendent's discretion. Other inspections may be authorized by the court in individual cases upon a showing that it is necessary in the public interest.

(d) If a child has been charged with an offense that if committed by an adult would be a felony, or if the case is transferred to another court for prosecution, the child's fingerprints, personal identification data, and other pertinent information shall be forwarded to the Georgia Crime Information Center of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. The Georgia Crime Information Center shall create a juvenile fingerprint file and enter the data into the computerized criminal history files. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation shall act as the official state repository for juvenile history data and is authorized to disseminate such data for the purposes specified in Code Section 15-11-82.

(e) Upon application of the child, fingerprints and photographs of a child shall be removed from the file and destroyed if a petition alleging delinquency is not filed or the proceedings are dismissed after either a petition is filed or the case is transferred to the juvenile court as provided in Code Section 15-11-30.4 or the child is adjudicated not to be a delinquent child. The court shall notify the deputy director of the Georgia Crime Information Center when fingerprints and photographs are destroyed pursuant to this subsection, and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation shall treat such records in the same manner as expunged records pursuant to subsection (c) of Code Section 35-3-37.

(f) Except as provided in this Code section, without the consent of the judge, a child shall not be photographed after he or she is taken into custody unless the case is transferred to another court for prosecution.

(g)(1) The name or picture of any child under the jurisdiction of the juvenile court for the first time shall not be made public by any news media, upon penalty of contempt under Code Section 15-11-5, except as otherwise provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection or as authorized by an order of the court.

(2) It shall be mandatory upon the judge of the juvenile court or his or her designee to release the name of any child with regard to whom a petition has been filed alleging the child committed a designated felony act or alleging the child committed a delinquent act if the child has previously been adjudicated delinquent or if the child has previously been before the court on a delinquency charge and adjudication was withheld. No person, firm, or corporation shall be guilty of any offense by making public the name or picture of any such child.