Sexual exploitation of a child in Colorado

What the charge means

The statute covers several kinds of conduct, and the class of felony depends on which one is charged:

• Causing, inducing, or permitting a child to take part in making sexually exploitative material.
• Preparing, producing, or publishing that material.
• Distributing it, or possessing it with intent to distribute.
• Simply possessing it.

In every version, prosecutors must prove the accused acted knowingly. That is often the real fight. Many cases start with an automated tip from an internet or cloud provider, followed by a search of homes and devices. Shared computers, shared networks, automatic downloads, and cached files can all put material on a device without the owner knowing, so tying a specific person to knowing possession is a genuine burden for the state.

Classification and sentencing

Production, distribution, and possession with intent to distribute are class 3 felonies. If the court imposes prison, the presumptive range is 4 to 12 years under C.R.S. 18-1.3-401. When the material depicts a child under 12, actual force or violence, or sexual penetration, the law treats the offense as an extraordinary risk crime and the top of that range rises to 16 years. Fines can reach $750,000. Simple possession is a class 5 felony, carrying 1 to 3 years if prison is imposed. Possession becomes a class 4 felony, with a 2 to 6 year presumptive range, when it is a second offense or the material includes video or more than 20 items. Mandatory parole follows any prison term.

Unlike many Colorado sex felonies, this charge is generally sentenced to a set term rather than an indeterminate term with a lifetime top, because it is not on the Lifetime Supervision Act's list of covered offenses. Sentencing in these cases is technical, though, and how a case is charged matters enormously.

These ranges describe what applies if incarceration is ordered. Probation or community corrections is legally possible in many cases, particularly possession cases, and nothing in the statute makes prison automatic for every version of the charge.

What else it touches

The consequences reach beyond the state sentence:

• Registration. Any conviction requires sex offender registration under Colorado law.
• Federal exposure. The same conduct can be charged in federal court, where mandatory minimum prison terms apply. Which courthouse a case lands in changes everything.
• Record sealing. Convictions involving unlawful sexual behavior generally cannot be sealed.
• Firearms. A felony conviction bars firearm possession under state and federal law.
• Immigration, licenses, and property. Noncitizens face removal, professional licenses are at risk, and seized devices are commonly forfeited.

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