Greeley Attorney for Internet Sex Crimes
As technology progresses, so does the amount of crime committed over the internet in Weld County, Colorado involving sex and children. Lawmakers are busy playing catch up to internet sex crimes and the ever changing methods people are using to abuse the internet or other technology. Because of this, the district attorney will often be harsh in pressing charges regarding internet sex cases that occur in Weld County cities like Greeley, Hudson, Erie, or Platteville. The specific crimes a district attorney will often charge are:
- Enticement of a Child - CRS 18-3-305
- Internet Luring of a Child - CRS 18-3-306
- Internet Sexual Exploitation of a Child - CRS 18-3-405.4
- Sexual Exploitation of a Child - CRS 18-6-403 (also known as Possession of Child Pornography)
Additionally, we have also provided a list of Sex Crimes that can be sentenced with Indeterminate Sentencing.
What are Internet Sex Crimes?
When investigating internet sex crimes involving children, police will confiscate property like computers, hard drives, iPads, and other electronic storage devices. They will perform sweeps on property and conduct forensic investigations to detect the presence of child pornography. If you bought a computer used or share a computer with roommates, anything that has not been wiped by special software, even if deleted or never seen by you, will be used as evidence against you in an internet sex crime if you are the owner.
Police Stings Common with Internet Sex Crimes
Many times, police in cities like Greeley, Fort Lupton, Milliken, Berthoud, or Eaton will entrap people into committing internet crimes. Police conduct elaborate sting operations where they pose as a fourteen year old child and set up an internet chat or skype calls in which they try to coerce the person on the other end to act out the elements necessary for a sex crime. They reason that they are trying to prevent those people from committing crimes in the future with “real” children. In reality, they are entrapping many into committing a crime that they would normally never commit. When they successfully trick someone to request child pornography or sent elicit pictures of themselves, that person faces serious sex crime charges. Convictions of sex crimes are the harshest, most difficult sentences to serve in Colorado. The Colorado Department of Corrections prison sentences for sex crimes are indeterminate, meaning that a release date is not set, and the sentence could be as long as life, depending on the parole board’s subjective judgment.
Commonly Charged Internet Sex Crimes
Enticement of a Child
With the advancement of technology, the internet, social media, texting, email and chat rooms are all very common forms of communication. From a criminal attorney perspective, we commonly see these forms of correspondence related to Enticement of a Child cases. This charge is considered a sex offense and is prosecuted harshly in Weld, Morgan, and Logan County.
Internet Luring of a Child
Most Internet Luring of a Child cases rarely even involve a child. Police agencies usually charge this crime after a police sting, where police are pretending to be a child and leading people through conversations to meet all the criteria associated with the elements of Internet Luring.
Internet Sexual Exploitation of a Child
As with many Internet sex crimes, Internet Sexual Exploitation of a Child is often charged as the result of a police sting operation. There are many necessary elements of this crime, and police officers are well acquainted with these elements. They will pose as young girls online and work to meet all the criteria and get the evidence they need for a conviction.
