What IS SEXUAL ASSAULT on a Child?

• Sexual Assault on a Child is when a person knowingly subjects a person, who is not their spouse, to any sexual contact, and the victim is less than 15 years old, and the actor is at least four years older than the victim.

• Sexual Assault on a Child does not need to include penetration or intrusion, it can be any sexual contact with the child victim.

• Sexual Assault on a Child is charged as a Class 4 Felony. However, it is a Class 3 Felony if:

  • The victim is forced to do the sexual act;

  • The victim is threatened with death, serious bodily injury, extreme pain, or kidnapping to get them to go along with the sexual act and the victim believes the threat;

  • The victim is threatened with future death, serious bodily injury, extreme pain, or kidnapping and the victim believes the future threats of harm; or

  • The victim has been a victim of multiple sexual assaults as a pattern of abuse. This can be two or more instances of abuse.

• A conviction for Sexual Assault on a Child, when charged as a felony, is considered an Act of Violence under C.R.S. 18-1.3.406, and if convicted the charge will be sentenced as an indeterminant sentence.

  • This means the sentence will not specify a mandatory release date, and the sentence can last the rest of a person's life

• Penalties for Sexual Assault on a Child:

  • Sexual Assault on a Child, when charged as a Class 4 Felony, carries a penalty of up to 8 years in the Department of Corrections, and a fine of up to $500,000.

  • Sexual Assault on a Child, when charged as a Class 3 Felony, carries an initial prison penalty of up to 32 years and a maximum penalty of up to life in the Department of Corrections, and a fine of up to $750,000.

C.R.S. 18-3-405 - Sexual Assault ON A CHILD

(1) Any actor who knowingly subjects another not his or her spouse to any sexual contact commits sexual assault on a child if the victim is less than fifteen years of age and the actor is at least four years older than the victim.

(2) Sexual assault on a child is a class 4 felony, but it is a class 3 felony if:

(a) The actor applies force against the victim in order to accomplish or facilitate sexual contact; or

(b) The actor, in order to accomplish or facilitate sexual contact, threatens imminent death, serious bodily injury, extreme pain, or kidnapping against the victim or another person, and the victim believes that the actor has the present ability to execute the threat; or

(c) The actor, in order to accomplish or facilitate sexual contact, threatens retaliation by causing in the future the death or serious bodily injury, extreme pain, or kidnapping against the victim or another person, and the victim believes that the actor will execute the threat; or

(d) The actor commits the offense as a part of a pattern of sexual abuse as described in subsection (1) of this section. No specific date or time must be alleged for the pattern of sexual abuse; except that the acts constituting the pattern of sexual abuse, whether charged in the information or indictment or committed prior to or at any time after the offense charged in the information or indictment, shall be subject to the provisions of section 16-5-401 (1)(a), concerning sex offenses against children. The offense charged in the information or indictment shall constitute one of the incidents of sexual contact involving a child necessary to form a pattern of sexual abuse as defined in section 18-3-401 (2.5). Prosecution for any incident of sexual contact constituting the offense or any incident of sexual contact constituting the pattern of sexual abuse may be commenced and charged in an information or indictment in a county where at least one of the incidents occurred or in a county where an act in furtherance of the offense was committed.

(3) If a defendant is convicted of the class 3 felony of sexual assault on a child pursuant to paragraphs (a) to (d) of subsection (2) of this section, the court shall sentence the defendant in accordance with the provisions of section 18-1.3-406.

(4) A person who is convicted on or after July 1, 2013, of sexual assault on a child under this section, upon conviction, shall be advised by the court that the person has no right:

(a) To notification of the termination of parental rights and no standing to object to the termination of parental rights for a child conceived as a result of the commission of that offense;

(b) To allocation of parental responsibilities, including parenting time and decision-making responsibilities for a child conceived as a result of the commission of that offense;

(c) Of inheritance from a child conceived as a result of the commission of that offense; and

(d) To notification of or the right to object to the adoption of a child conceived as a result of the commission of that offense.