Child abuse in Colorado

What the charge means

Prosecutors can charge child abuse under three theories. A person commits the offense if they:

• Cause an injury to a child's life or health;
• Permit a child to be unreasonably placed in a situation that poses a threat of injury to the child's life or health; or
• Engage in a continued pattern of conduct that results in malnourishment, lack of proper medical care, cruel punishment, mistreatment, or an accumulation of injuries.

A child means anyone under sixteen. Notice that no injury is required for the second theory: leaving a child in a hot car, an unsecured gun in the home, driving impaired with a child in the car, or a domestic fight that happens in front of a child can all be charged as child abuse even when the child is unhurt.

The mental state matters as much as the act. Acting knowingly or recklessly means being aware of the risk and disregarding it. Acting with criminal negligence means failing to see a risk that a reasonable person would have seen. That difference moves the charge up or down the entire ladder, and it is often the central fight in the case. Many of these cases begin with an accident, a medical dispute over how an injury happened, or a discipline decision that someone else reported.

Classification and sentencing

The classification depends on the harm and the mental state:

• No injury, any mental state: class 2 misdemeanor, up to 120 days in jail and a fine up to $750 if jail is imposed.
• Injury short of serious bodily injury, criminal negligence: class 2 misdemeanor, the same range.
• Injury short of serious bodily injury, knowing or reckless: class 1 misdemeanor, up to 364 days in jail and a fine up to $1,000 if jail is imposed.
• Serious bodily injury, criminal negligence: class 4 felony.
• Serious bodily injury, knowing or reckless: class 3 felony.
• Death of the child, criminal negligence: class 3 felony.
• Death of the child, knowing or reckless: class 2 felony.

Serious bodily injury is a defined term: injury involving a substantial risk of death, serious permanent disfigurement, or long term loss or impairment of a body part or organ, including broken bones and second or third degree burns.

Felony child abuse is an extraordinary risk crime, which raises the presumptive maximums. If the court imposes prison, the class 4 range is 2 to 6 years with the maximum extended to 8, and the class 3 range is 4 to 12 years with the maximum extended to 16. A class 2 conviction carries 8 to 24 years. When a knowing or reckless case results in death or serious bodily injury, the statute requires an aggravated sentence: prison for at least the midpoint of the range and up to twice the maximum. For the misdemeanor and lower felony levels, probation and other sentences are often possible; the ranges above describe what applies only if the court orders jail or prison. Repeat misdemeanor child abuse can itself be charged as a felony.

What else it touches

Child abuse allegations set off consequences that run on separate tracks from the criminal case:

• Child welfare. A county human services investigation and a possible dependency and neglect case can affect custody and parenting time regardless of what happens in criminal court. A founded report can also place a person in Colorado's child abuse records system, which affects work involving children.
• Licenses. Teachers, child care providers, nurses, and other licensed professionals face discipline or disqualification from a conviction and sometimes from the allegation alone.
• Firearms. Any felony conviction bars firearm possession under state and federal law.
• Immigration. Federal law specifically lists child abuse convictions as a ground of deportability for a noncitizen.
• Record sealing. A dismissal or acquittal can generally be sealed. Child abuse convictions are difficult to seal and in many situations are not eligible.

We defend child abuse cases, and a free consultation is the place to get answers about a specific situation. Calls and emails are returned the same business day.