Contributing to the Delinquency of a Minor is charged in Greeley and Weld County when a person is accused of encouraging someone under the age of 18 to commit a crime. A former Colorado juvenile DA was recently sentenced for this crime after he communicated with a teenager. According to the report, the teen’s parents received his information and reached out regarding getting their son to come into court as a ‘scare him straight’ type of intervention. They wanted him to see other kids in court facing charges and see the consequences of their actions, hopefully steering him in a new direction. The DA ended up getting the teen’s phone number and the two began texting. The two began having conversations about smoking marijuana, how to hide it from his parents, meeting in person without the parents around and deleting messages so they wouldn’t get in trouble. The teen’s parents looked at his phone, saw the messages, and promptly contacted law enforcement. The former DA was arrested and eventually sentenced to 60 days in jail and 5 years of supervised probation.
Weld County Contributing to the Delinquency of a Minor Lawyer: How is Contributing to the Delinquency of a Minor Charged in Colorado?
The Weld County, Colorado law definition of Contributing to the Delinquency of a Minor – C.R.S. 18-6-701 – is:
(b) Any person who induces, aids, or encourages a child to violate any municipal or county ordinance, court order, or state or federal law that is not a felony victims rights act crime as defined in section 24-4.1-302 (1) commits second degree contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
(c) As used in this section, the term ”child“ means any person under the age of eighteen years.
The degree to which a person is charged depends on the type of crime they are encouraging a child to commit.
Penalty for Contributing to the Delinquency of a Minor in Erie and Evans
In Erie and Evans, Contributing to the Delinquency of a Minor can be charged in the First Degree or the Second Degree. First Degree Contributing to the Delinquency of a Minor is a class 4 felony. This level felony is punishable by 2 to 6 years in the Colorado Department of Corrections. Second Degree Contributing to the Delinquency of a Minor is a class 1 misdemeanor. The penalty for a class 1 misdemeanor is up to 364 days in the Weld County Jail.