Like almost all sex crimes in Colorado, a conviction for sex assault on a child carries a frightening potential penalty — a minimum of two years in prison and a maximum of life in prison.
The reality is that, if you are convicted, your life as a free person may be over for many years.
Complicating the situation is the frequency in which sex assault on a child charges are erroneously filed.
Often, our clients face accusations from immature, jealous, insecure, confused and, perhaps, manipulative stepdaughters or stepsons who misunderstand incidents, manipulate information, or act under the advice of hysterical or misinformed parents.
At the law firm of Shazam Kianpour & Associates, P.C., we can help you sort out what can be a very confusing case, create a defense strategy and protect your rights every step of the way.
Often a case comes down to one key decision:
“Do I plead guilty to a lesser charge like a low-level felony or a misdemeanor, or go to trial and face the possibility, however remote, of a felony sex assault conviction and years in prison?”
Sex assault on a child in Colorado may be the most commonly charged sex crime in the panoply of sex crimes legislated and litigated in our state.
The accusations of a sex offense come in a variety of forms, but the most common seen by our Colorado criminal defense law firm is the one that causes the most strife and the most damage to families in our 20 years of experience.
What exactly is sex assault on a child in Denver or anywhere else in Colorado? The Colorado Revised Statutes Title 18, Criminal Code § 18-3-405, states that:
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 15 years of age and the actor is at least four years older than the victim.
In other words, as long as the “victim” is under 15 years of age and you are four years older, you can and will be charged with sex assault on a child in Adams County.
This even means if you have a child who is four years older than another child, then your child can be accused of sex assault on a child in Boulder County or any other county in Colorado.
At Shazam Kianpour & Associates, P.C., we are Littleton sex assault defense attorneys.
Not only do we specialize in adult sex crime, but we have successfully defended countless juvenile sex assault on a child cases in Jefferson County and all over Colorado.
What are the reasons you might be charged with sex assault on a child in Highlands Ranch, Centennial, or Englewood and its surrounding cities and counties?
Well first and foremost, you might be surprised to hear that a large part of outcries come from the parent of a child.
Sometimes the parents use a sex assault allegation to position themselves better for a divorce proceeding, arguing that the other parent has molested their child.
Often the accused is a stepparent who has told the child off for bad behavior.
The child does not want to be disciplined by somebody who isn’t his or her “real dad or mom” and lashes out in rage, jealousy, or typical teenage or adolescent anger.
Frequently the person accused of molesting a child is a father figure who is not the biological father.
The child wants to see the real father and mother get back together and uses the accusation of sex assault to remove the stepfather from the relationship.
Many times, our criminal defense law firm in Denver has discovered that the child was molested or raped by their young boyfriend.
They feel insecure, they are ashamed of what they have been through and they lash out at the first person who is a paternal figure in their life blaming the man for the other male’s behavior.
Shazam Kianpour has defended multiple sex crimes cases in Greenwood Village, Lone Tree and other Colorado cities where the alleged victim has become pregnant with the child of her secret boyfriend that the parents know nothing about.
Getting an abortion is traumatic and after being pressed by the angry mother or father, the youth blames a family friend, neighbor or cleric in order to hide the secret relationship with the boyfriend and to protect the boyfriend.
Whatever the reason for the allegation, be it true or false, the consequences of being charged with a crime involving illicit sexual behavior in Denver or Colorado are often lifelong and devastating, both to our clients charged with sex assault on a child and also to the families that now need to decipher truth from fiction and find themselves in a family feud that tears their relationships and lives apart.
The lifetime sex offender registration requirements are just the tip of the iceberg and don’t even begin to describe the horrors that will follow.
If convicted of sex assault on a child in Jefferson County, the first thing the accused faces is a potential lifetime sentence to probation or lifetime sentence to prison.
These sentences are called indeterminate sentences and almost all sex crimes in Colorado carry these penalties.
In addition to their lifetime sentences comes the real possibility of facing Sex Offender Intensive Supervision Probation (SOISP).
SOISP probation officers are highly trained, but that doesn’t mean they are treating a guilty person.
Too often the innocent person charged would hire a Jefferson County criminal defense lawyer who they chose because they thought it is best to hire a criminal defense attorney in Jefferson County who has an office close to the courthouse.
Just because your lawyer lives or offices near the county court where you are charged does not mean they have an understanding of how to properly defend and handle these complex crimes.
Look for an attorney who has experience in all counties. Look for a sex crimes specialist who can communicate well with you.
Our attorneys can help make these complex sex laws make sense to you and can communicate clearly with the prosecutor as well, which is the first step in getting you the result that you need.
The sex laws in Colorado are very complicated to interpret and you should contact Shazam Kianpour & Associates, P.C., to receive a free consultation on the complexities and nuances that your particular sex charges carry with them.
Sex assault on a child in Larimer County, Weld County or its surrounding counties are normally classified as F4 felonies, but different varieties and aggravating factors of sex assault on a child can increase the felony rank from a class 4 felony (F4) to a class 3 felony (F3).
For example, if you are a coach or teacher or pastor for that child, then you could be charged with sex assault on a child by one in a position of trust: CRS 18-3-405.3 (F3).
Charges of sex assault on a child by one in a position of trust in Boulder County, Denver (or any other county charging sex crimes in Colorado) carry even more extreme punishments.
They are so complex that often experienced criminal defense attorneys and prosecutors will argue different interpretations of the statute before the court.
If criminal defense lawyers and district attorneys can’t even agree on what the statute means, then it is time to get serious professional help from the Colorado team of defense attorneys that has been through it countless times before. We will take the time to listen to you.
We are not here to judge you, we are here to protect you and we will fight for you every step of the way.
We have helped fathers, mothers, stepfathers, stepmothers, coaches, teachers, doctors, nurses, and many others handle all legal complications resulting from sexual assault on a child charges.
These complications can range from handling restraining orders to dealing with warrants to arguing bail before a judge.
If you have been charged with sexually assaulting a child, now is not the time to let the legal process run its course and hope for the best. You will be facing highly aggressive and motivated prosecutors responding to angry parents of alleged victims.
You are also facing extremely harsh sentencing laws, even if you feel or know you did nothing wrong. To contact a lawyer for a free consultation at our Denver office, call 303-825-1075 today.
