Sexual assault on a child in Colorado

What the charge means

Prosecutors must prove each of these elements beyond a reasonable doubt:

• The accused knowingly subjected another person to sexual contact. Sexual contact means touching intimate parts, or the clothing covering them, for sexual arousal, gratification, or abuse. Penetration is not required.
• The other person was under 15.
• The accused was at least 4 years older and was not the child's spouse.

Consent is not a defense, and neither is a mistake about the child's age. These cases often begin with a report from a family member, teacher, or counselor, followed by a forensic interview of the child. Many rest heavily on statements rather than physical evidence, which makes how the investigation was conducted a central issue.

Classification and sentencing

The baseline charge is a class 4 felony governed by the Sex Offender Lifetime Supervision Act, C.R.S. 18-1.3-1004. Sentences under that law are indeterminate, meaning the court sets a bottom number and the top is natural life. If the court imposes prison on the class 4 felony, the bottom number is at least 2 years, the low end of the class 4 range in C.R.S. 18-1.3-401. The parole board decides release after the minimum is served and treatment requirements are met, and supervision can continue for life.

The charge becomes a class 3 felony if the accused used force, made certain threats, or committed the offense as part of a pattern of sexual abuse, which the law defines as two or more incidents of sexual contact involving the same child. Force and pattern cases are sentenced under the crime of violence statute, C.R.S. 18-1.3-406. Prison is required, and the court sets the bottom term in an enhanced range commonly described as 8 to 24 years, with the top still natural life.

These ranges describe what applies if incarceration is ordered. For some class 4 cases that are not sentenced as crimes of violence, indeterminate probation with intensive supervision and treatment, lasting at least 10 years and up to life, is legally possible. Where force or a pattern is proven, the law mandates prison.

What else it touches

The collateral consequences of this charge are among the heaviest in Colorado law:

• Registration. Sex offender registration is required, and adults convicted of this offense are generally barred from ever petitioning to come off the registry.
• Record sealing. Convictions cannot be sealed.
• Firearms. A felony conviction bars firearm possession under state and federal law.
• Immigration. For noncitizens, this conviction is generally treated as an aggravated felony, and removal is the expected result.
• Daily life. Treatment conditions commonly restrict contact with minors, housing, and internet use, and work involving children is off the table.

We defend these cases in Colorado, and a consultation is the place to get answers about a specific situation.