A Weld County man was recently sentenced to 6 years in the Colorado Department of Corrections for possessing 20 images of boys under the age of 10 along with a video of two young boys participating in sexual acts. According to the news report, the man’s ex-girlfriend initially found nude images of her 6-year-old son on the man’s iPad, and reported them to the police. Through the investigation, more images were found on the man’s cell phone and the video was recovered from his laptop. After pleading guilty to two counts of Sexual Exploitation of a Child, the man was sentenced to 6 years in prison and 10 years of Sex Offender Intensive Supervised Probation (SOISP).
Greeley Sexual Exploitation of a Child Lawyer: What is the Definition of Sexual Exploitation of a Child?
The Colorado law definition of Sexual Exploitation of a Child – C.R.S. 18-6-403 – is:
(a) Causes, induces, entices, or permits a child to engage in, or be used for, any explicit sexual conduct for the making of any sexually exploitative material; or
(b) Prepares, arranges for, publishes, including but not limited to publishing through digital or electronic means, produces, promotes, makes, sells, finances, offers, exhibits, advertises, deals in, or distributes, including but not limited to distributing through digital or electronic means, any sexually exploitative material; or
(b.5) Possesses or controls any sexually exploitative material for any purpose; except that this paragraph (b.5) does not apply to peace officers or court personnel in the performance of their official duties, nor does it apply to physicians, psychologists, therapists, or social workers, so long as such persons are licensed in the state of Colorado and the persons possess such materials in the course of a bona fide treatment or evaluation program at the treatment or evaluation site; or
(c) Possesses with the intent to deal in, sell, or distribute, including but not limited to distributing through digital or electronic means, any sexually exploitative material; or
(d) Causes, induces, entices, or permits a child to engage in, or be used for, any explicit sexual conduct for the purpose of producing a performance.
Most likely, the man’s charges stemmed from part (b.5) – possessing sexually exploitative material for any purpose. In Greeley, Erie, and Windsor as well as across Colorado, part (b.5) is the all-encompassing part of the statue. It basically covers any situation that does not meet the criteria of the other parts found within the Sexual Exploitation of a Child statute.
Is All Child Nudity Illegal in Greeley and Weld county?
It is worth noting that not all nudity of children is illegal. Otherwise, your mother would be prosecuted for that embarrassing childhood picture of you taking a bath in the sink. When your diaper fell off, your father would be committing a felony sex offense for leaving the video camera on. In fact, the U.S. Supreme Court has said that nudity, without more, is protected speech. Child nudity becomes illegal when the child is involved in or observing a sex act.
Weld County Sexual Exploitation of a Child Sentence
Sexual Exploitation of a Child can be charged as a class 3, class 4, or class 5 felony crime in Weld, Morgan, and Logan County:
- Class 5 felony – if charged under part (b.5) of the above statute
- Class 4 felony – if charged under (b.5) AND it is a second or subsequent offense or the possession is of a video or more than 20 different sexually exploitative images
- Class 3 felony – if charged under parts (a), (b), (c), or (d) of the above statute.
A felony crime is punishable by a sentence to the Colorado Department of Corrections.
If you or someone you love has been charged with Sexual Exploitation of a Child, be smart, exercise your right to remain silent, and contact the best criminal defense attorneys from the O’Malley Law Office at 970-616-6009 today. Never make the mistake of hiring a cheap attorney. Your life is worth the investment in quality legal representation. Together, we can protect your future.
Image Source: Pixabay-PIX1861