Sexual crimes are considered to be particularly serious. For such crimes, the court can sentence you to lengthy prison terms, substantial fines, and registration as a sex offender after serving your sentence. If the State has charged you with sexual assault or a related offense, you need an experienced defense attorney on your side. At The Ferrell Law Firm, PLLC, we are passionate about helping people accused of crimes. We can help you negotiate the best plea deal or put together your best defense to help avoid the harshest consequences of a conviction.
Key Takeaways:
- Serious Charges: Sexual assault and related offenses are treated with severity under Colorado law, potentially leading to significant legal consequences.
- Multiple Offenses: Charges can include various forms of sexual assault, unlawful sexual contact, and offenses involving minors or individuals in positions of trust.
- Legal Definitions: Colorado law specifies definitions for consent, sexual intrusion, sexual penetration, and sexual contact, which are critical in these cases.
- Felony Levels: Sexual assault charges range from class 4 to class 2 felonies, with penalties increasing based on the circumstances, such as the use of force or the involvement of minors.
- Misdemeanor Charges: Unlawful sexual contact is generally a class 1 misdemeanor but can escalate to a felony under certain conditions.
- Sex Offender Registration: Conviction requires registration as a sex offender, imposing long-term restrictions and obligations.
Sexual Assault Offenses
Under Colorado law, sexual assault spans multiple offenses. Also, when the State charges you with sexual assault, it may also charge you with related offenses. To fully understand the penalties for sexual assault, you need to know which of the following charges applies to you:
- Sexual assault,
- Unlawful sexual contact,
- Sexual assault on a child,
- Sexual assault on a child by one in a position of trust,
- Sexual assault on a client by a psychotherapist, or
- Unlawful sexual conduct by a peace officer.
Depending on the circumstances, The government can charge you with one or more offenses.
Sexual Assault
Although there are several different sexual assault offenses, they use the same definition of sexual assault. A person commits sexual assault if they knowingly inflict “sexual intrusion or sexual penetration” on another person, knowing that the other person:
- Does not consent,
- Is incapable of understanding what is happening,
- Erroneously believes the first person is their spouse, or
- Is physically helpless and has not consented.
You also commit sexual assault if you knowingly inflict “sexual intrusion or sexual penetration” on another person who, regardless of whether you know of the fact, is:
- Less than 15, not your spouse, and you are at least 4 years older;
- Age 15 to 16, not your spouse, and you are at least 10 years older;
- In custody or detained, and you have supervisory or disciplinary authority over them, and you use the position to coerce submission; or
- Seeking medical treatment and you engage in treatment or an examination for an illegitimate reason or in a way that is inconsistent with accepted medical practice.
Colorado law defines several of the important terms used in these offenses as follows:
- Consent—cooperation pursuant to free will with knowledge of the nature of the act;
- Physically helpless—asleep, unconscious, or otherwise unable to indicate their willingness to act;
- Sexual intrusion—any intrusion by any object, however slight, of any portion of another’s body, except the tongue, mouth, or penis, into the genital or anal opening of another person’s body if the purpose can be construed as being for sexual arousal, gratification, or abuse; and
- Sexual penetration—sexual intercourse, cunnilingus, fellatio, anilingus, or anal intercourse where any penetration, however slight, is sufficient.
Whether you are charged with sexual assault or a variation depends on the ages of the people involved and the relationship between them.
Unlawful Sexual Contact
Often, if you get charged with sexual assault, the prosecutor might also accuse you of the lesser offense of unlawful sexual contact. A person commits unlawful sexual contact if they knowingly subject another person to “any sexual contact” in any of the circumstances involved in sexual assault, except those relating to age.
Colorado law defines the important term here, sexual contact, to mean knowingly:
- Touching the other person’s intimate parts, having the other person touch your intimate parts, or one person touching the clothing covering either person’s intimate parts when the touching is for the purposes of sexual arousal, gratification, or abuse;
- “Emission or ejaculation of seminal fluid onto any body part” or clothing of the other person; or
- “Causing semen, blood, urine, feces, or a bodily substance to contact any body part” or clothing of the other person.
In addition, the code defines “intimate parts” to mean “external genitalia or the perineum or the anus or the buttocks or the pubes or the breast.”
Sentencing for Sexual Assault
In Colorado, sexual assault is typically a class 4 felony, while unlawful sexual contact is a class 1 misdemeanor. However, the level of the offense can vary based on the circumstances alleged.
Sexual assault is a class 6 felony when it involves someone aged 15 or 16 with a person who is at least 10 years older.
It is a class 3 felony when it involves:
- Someone who is physically helpless;
- Application of physical force;
- Threat of imminent death, serious injury, pain, or kidnapping;
- Threat of future death, serious injury, pain, or kidnapping; or
- Use of a drug or intoxicant to induce submission.
It is a class 2 felony when:
- One or more people physically aid or abet the act;
- The other person suffers a serious injury; or
- The person is armed with a deadly weapon or reasonably convinces the other person they are armed with a deadly weapon.
Now that we’ve reviewed the level of the offenses, let’s discuss the penalties.
Fines and Jail Time
All felony offenses that Colorado defines as sex offenses, collectively including all offenses discussed here, include increased jail sentences. Usually, felonies involve the following sentences and fines:
- Class 1: Life in prison;
- Class 2: 8 to 24 years imprisonment, $5,000 to $1,000,000 fine;
- Class 3: 4 to 12 years imprisonment, $3,000 to $750,000 fine;
- Class 4: 2 to 6 years imprisonment, $2,000 to $500,000 fine;
- Class 5: 1 to 3 years imprisonment, $1,000 to $100,000 fine; and
- Class 6: 12 to 18 months in prison, $1,000 to $100,000 fine.
However, because the legislature has defined sex offenses as particularly bad, sexual assault jail time includes:
- Class 3: Additional 4 years for a maximum of 16 years in prison;
- Class 4: Additional 2 years for a maximum of 8 years in prison;
- Class 5: Additional year for a maximum of 4 years in prison; and
- Class 6: Additional 6 months for a maximum of 2 years in prison.
Sexual assault penalties in Colorado also include lengthier parole and probation than offenses at the same class level not involving sexual conduct.
Unlawful Sexual Contact
At a base level, unlawful sexual contact is a class 1 misdemeanor, which can involve 364 days in jail and a fine of up to $1,000. Like sexual assault, some factors can increase the offense level. Unlawful sexual contact is a class 4 felony if it involves:
- Application of physical force;
- Threat of imminent death, serious injury, pain, or kidnapping;
- Threat of future death, serious injury, pain, or kidnapping;
- A minor; or
- Illegitimate medical treatments or examinations.
Because unlawful sexual contact is classified as a sex offense, when it is a felony, it is subject to the same heightened sentencing levels as sexual assault.
Sex Offender Registration
In addition to fines and jail time, anyone convicted of unlawful sexual behavior must register as a sex offender. Sex offender registration is one of the unique penalties for sexual assault and comes with many obligations and restrictions on where you can live and what you can do with your time outside of prison. Based on the class of the offense, you can petition to remove your name from the list after a certain number of years without a subsequent conviction.
The Ferrell Law Firm, PLLC Will Defend You
If you have been accused of sexual assault, an experienced defense attorney can help. At The Ferrell Law Firm, PLLC, we are passionate about protecting people from governmental mistreatment. We can help, whether that means negotiating a plea bargain to avoid the harsher consequences of a conviction or fighting it out to get a not-guilty verdict at trial. Contact us today.
Michael, founder of The Ferrell Law Firm, PLLC, specializes in criminal defense and personal injury law. With a background in substance abuse treatment, he brings empathy and understanding to his legal practice. A former Deputy District Attorney in Arapahoe County, Michael has extensive experience prosecuting a wide range of criminal cases, including DUIs and domestic violence. His law degree from the University of Denver Sturm College of Law, combined with his hands-on experience in criminal law, positions him as a knowledgeable and effective advocate for his clients’ rights.
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