Defense From Sexual Assault On A Child Charges
If you have been accused of sexual assault on 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 assault on a child generally occurs where a person subjects another person to any sexual contact and where the victim is less than 15 years of age and the actor is at least four years older than the victim.
The offense may be aggravated by the presence of any number of factors such as: (1) the person applies force against the victim; or (2) the person commits the act as a pattern of abuse.
A separate statute imposes criminal liability where the sexual contact occurs with a victim less than 18 years of age where the actor is in a position of trust with respect to the victim. Again, the offense may be aggravated by the presence of any number of factors such as: (1) the victim is less than 15 years of age; or (2) the person commits the act as a pattern of abuse.
Possible Consequences For Sexual Assault On A Child
If convicted of sexual assault on 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 4 felony sex assault on a child could receive the following sentence: (1) probation of a minimum ten 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 two to six years, but as much as the person’s natural life, with a mandatory parole period of three years to life.
In addition to any sentence a person receives for sexual assault, the person must also register as a sex offender.
Possible Defenses For Sexual Assault On A Child
Many times these charges for sexual assault on a child arise during the pendency of a divorce proceeding. In other words, the defendant’s soon-to-be ex-spouse, or an angry teenager who wants her father or stepfather “out of the picture,” will make up these false allegations.
Other times, these allegations are made by very young children who are very suggestible by other caregivers that an act of sexual abuse has occurred. Some children will have been heavily coached by a caregiver to implicate the defendant. A father may be accused of touching a child’s butt for sexual gratification whereas the touching really only occurred in the context of promoting personal hygiene. It is important to challenge these charges immediately by reviewing how the report was initially received; obtaining any Department of Human (social) Services reports that were prepared; questioning any forensic interviewers who may have talked to the child; obtaining any divorce paperwork that may have previously been filed; and potentially obtaining a polygraph of the defendant in order to show that he is, in fact, innocent.
The remaining defenses that may be applied in a sexual assault on 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 assault on a child lawyer to defend you in a sexual assault on a child case in Golden, Jefferson County 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. .