The stigma of charges for sex crimes is a heavy burden that can overshadow the rest of your life. A conviction not only means the potential loss of your freedom. It can also mean losing custody rights to your children, having to register as a sex offender, and being subject to invasive supervision, even for relatively minor offenses.
Attorney Sean P. Harrell is a premier Loveland criminal defense attorney who has extensive experience handling all types of criminal cases. He wants to protect your rights during this difficult time. Contact the Loveland sex crimes attorney from The Harrell Law Firm, PLLC for help online or call (970) 791-2006.
What Are Sex Crimes in Loveland, Colorado?
Sex crimes involve a wide array of cases. They are typically committed for sexual gratification. Some of the sex crimes that are most commonly charged in Colorado include the following:
- Sexual assault – This offense involves subjecting another to unwanted or offensive sexual contact.
- Internet luring – This crime arises when an adult knowingly communicates via electronic means with a person under the age of 15 and during these communications describes sexually explicit conduct and attempts to meet that person. This crime can also be charged if the person believes that the person with whom they are communicating is 15 or younger but is really older (or a sting operation).
- Prostitution – Soliciting, patronizing, and pimping all fall under the state’s prostitution laws.
- Human trafficking of a minor for sexual servitude – This crime is committed when a person takes a minor from one place for the purpose of placing them into the prostitution business.
- Child pornography – Producing, distributing, or procuring child pornography is illegal in Colorado.
- Indecent exposure – This offense occurs when someone willfully exposes their genitals in another person’s presence and is likely to cause them offense or alarm.
This is just a small sampling of some of the sex crimes in Colorado. Many other offenses are aggressively prosecuted in the state.
Sentencing Laws for Colorado Sex Crimes
Special sentencing laws apply for Colorado sex crimes. Courts can sentence those convicted of certain sex crimes to an indeterminate prison term. This means that the sentence can be as low as the minimum of the presumptive range, all the way up to life. If the crime involved violence, the minimum sentence is the midpoint of the presumptive range for the offense, up to life. Additionally, habitual sex offenders and those who are HIV-positive and were aware of their status before committing a sex offense can be sentenced to at least three times the upper limit of the presumptive range, up to life.
The offenses that subject a person to these sentencing guidelines include:
- Sexual assault
- Sexual assault on a child
- Sexual assault on a child by one in a position of trust
- Aggravated sexual assault on a client by a psychotherapist
- Internet sexual exploitation of a child
- Felony unlawful sexual contact
- Incest
- Aggravated incest
- Internet luring of a child
- Enticement of a child
- Sexual exploitation of children
- Trafficking in children
- Procurement of a child for sexual exploitation
- Patronizing a prostituted child
- Pandering of a child
- Pimping a child
- Keeping a place of child prostitution
- Inducement of child prostitution
- Any sexual offense that was committed while using threat, intimidation, or force against the victim or caused bodily harm to the victim
Penalties for sex crimes in Colorado can include:
- Imprisonment, up to a life term
- Mandatory treatment
- Lifetime supervision
- Registration as a sex offender
- Long periods of mandatory probation
Don’t Wait – Contact The Harrell Law Firm, PLLC Today
If you are facing criminal charges for sex-related crimes in Colorado, it is vital that you work with an experienced Loveland sex crimes lawyer who can protect your rights. Contact The Harrell Law Firm, PLLC today online or call (970) 791-2006 for a confidential consultation to discuss your next steps.