Fighting Sexual Exploitation Of A Child Charges

If you have been accused of sexual exploitation of a child, you have the right to fight the charges. An experienced attorney can help. At Pearson & Paris, P.C., we have more than 50 years of combined legal experience that we will use in your defense. Perhaps more importantly, our top criminal defense attorney is a former senior prosecutor who knows how district attorneys handle these cases. That knowledge allows us to create effective strategies ranging from negotiation to courtroom battles.

Call us at 303-872-4719 in the Greater Denver area or toll free at 303-872-4719 across Colorado for an initial consultation at reduced Rates.

Whether in the Denver area, or anywhere in Colorado, sexual exploitation of a child generally occurs where a person knowingly causes, induces, entices, or permits a child to engage in, or be used for, any exploitative sexual conduct for the making of any sexually exploitative material, but is also includes the possession and the distribution of any sexually exploitative material.

This statute then makes it unlawful to produce, possess, and distribute child pornography that is contained in any graphic or video format.

Possible Consequences For Sexual Exploitation Of A Child

Sexual exploitation of a child though producing or distribution of child pornography is a class 3 felony. If convicted of sexual exploitation of a child, the person is exposed to the Lifetime Supervision of Sex Offenders Act, which imposes an indeterminate sentence with a maximum possible sentence of life imprisonment. A person who is convicted of a class 3 felony sexual exploitation of a child could receive the following sentence: (1) probation of a minimum 20 years to as much as the person’s natural life, with a possible jail sentence as a condition of probation of up to 90 days, or up to a two-year work release sentence as a condition of probation, or (2) a sentence to the department of corrections with a bottom range four to 12 years, but as much as the person’s natural life, with a mandatory parole period of five years to life.

Sexual exploitation of a child though possessing of child pornography is a class 6 felony. If convicted of the class 6 felony sexual exploitation of a child, the person is not exposed to the Lifetime Supervision of Sex Offenders Act, and is eligible to receive a determinate sentence instead. A person who is convicted of a class 6 felony sexual exploitation of a child could receive the following sentence: (1) probation, with a possible jail sentence as a condition of probation of up to 90 days, or up to a two-year work release sentence as a condition of probation, or (2) a sentence to the department of corrections with a bottom range of one year, but as much as 18 months, plus one year of mandatory parole.

Depending on the facts of the case, a prosecutor may elect to charge each individual image as a separate count. We take care in analyzing these multiple charging decisions as potentially in violation of double jeopardy.

Possible Defenses For Sexual Exploitation Of A Child

The critical defenses in this case involve showing that the person did not “knowingly” possess child pornography. This means that if it can be shown that there were multiple users who had access to the computer, then it is much more difficult for the prosecutor to establish the elements of the offense. The state would normally have executed a search warrant and confiscated a computer involved. They will then look for the “IP address” and passwords that were involved. Before they do any of this they will have “cloned” the hard drive in order to avoid any accusations that they have somehow tampered with the computer by adding images. Where the images were downloaded through a wireless unsecured router or modem, care must be taken in analyzing whether an unknown person may have used the IP address to download pornographic images.

There may also be a mistake of fact defense available where it is not clear from looking at the image what the age is of the person depicted in the image. Anyone under the age of 18 years is considered a child for the purposes of the sexual exploitation of a child statute, and it may be difficult to tell a 17-year-old male apart from an 18-year-old male. Where a person was reasonably mistaken in the age of the person depicted in the image, the defense of mistake of fact may be available.
The remaining defenses that may be applied in a sexual exploitation of a child case apply with equal force to those that may apply in any other criminal case. This includes an analysis of any violation of constitutional rights, such as the right to remain silent, the right to counsel, the right to have any searches and seizures based on probable cause, a proper warrant, and the right to due process in the proper preservation of evidence that may be used against you. Many other defenses are available that rely on scrutinizing and exposing weaknesses in the prosecutor’s case, such as: biased or incompetent witnesses, flawed crime scene investigation, flawed administration and procedures in collecting breath, blood or urine for forensic testing, incompetent computer evidence, flawed photo lineups, and inaccurate crime scene/accident reconstructions.

It is important that you hire a skilled and experienced sexual exploitation of a child lawyer to defend you in a sexual exploitation of a child case in Denver, or across Colorado.

Call us at 303-872-4719 in the Greater Denver area or toll free across Colorado at 303-872-4719 for an initial consultation at reduced Rates.