Here are the specific statutory requirements your Colorado criminal lawyer will need to refute to defeat a charge of Internet Sexual Exploitation of a Child in Colorado:
18-3-405.4. Internet Sexual Exploitation of a Child.
An actor commits internet sexual exploitation of a child if the actor 1) knowingly importunes, invites, or entices through communication 2) via a computer network or system, telephone network, or data network or by a text message or instant message, a person whom the actor knows or believes to be 3) under fifteen years of age and at least four years younger than the actor, to:
(a) Expose or touch the person's own or another person's intimate parts while communicating with the actor via a computer network or system, telephone network, or data network or by a text message or instant message; or
(b) Observe the actor's intimate parts via a computer network or system, telephone network, or data network or by a text message or instant message.
This Colorado class 4 felony crime is similar to Internet Luring of a Child and Enticement of a Child in many respects. It is different in that there is no meeting or invitation to meet between the adult and child. Read our Internet Sexual Exploitation of a Child - Questions and Answers Page.
The police would need to prove that you knowingly (knew what you were doing) asked the child to do something. "Knowingly" is the mental or mindset element, and you will need the assistance of your Colorado criminal attorney to sort through the intricacies of what this means.
Next, the police would try to prove there was a computer or telephone network used in the invitation. This is usually straight-forward by definition.
The ages of the actor and the "child" here are similar to those in Internet Luring of a Child and Enticement of a Child. The child must be less than fifteen years and the actor must be over four years older than the child.
Finally, someone needs to expose, observe or touch their intimate parts - either the "child" or the actor. Your Colorado criminal lawyer can often make progress with this element.
We can sometimes make an entrapment defense for our clients. This is useful when police make the first contact between our clients and their character. One of the important characteristics of entrapment is that the government played a major role in persuading or leading our clients into the conduct they are involved in.
This offense is a sex offense in Colorado, and if convicted, you will need to register as a sex offender (Colorado Sex Offender Management Board) and complete the onerous requirements of sex offender treatment. Don't gamble with your children, job, marriage and reputation. If you think you might be charged in Colorado with Internet Sexual Exploitation of a Child, don't speak with the police or "child" at all. Call a Colorado criminal lawyer who knows sex crimes at 303-731-0719.
