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In Fort Collins and Larimer County, Sexual Exploitation of a Child is the legal phrase for child pornography. Generally, when we see Sexual Exploitation cases, they are related to adults downloading or viewing pornographic videos or images of children from the internet for sexual gratification. Recently, though, there was an arrest in Morgan County that was seemingly a very different type of Sex Exploitation case. According to the article, a Colorado school district was investigating a sexting issue among students. Through the school investigation (and not involving law enforcement), the administrators confiscated the inappropriate images they found of the underage students and uploaded them to the school’s network. There were no claims that the administrators involved were viewing the images or had put them on any personal devices. However, once law enforcement caught wind of what was happening, two administrators were arrested – one with four counts of Sexual Exploitation of a Child and the other for Complicity to Commit Sexual Exploitation.
Larimer County Sex Exploitation Lawyer: What is Sexual Exploitation of a Child in Colorado?
The Larimer County, Colorado law definition of Sexual Exploitation of a Child – C.R.S. 18-6-403 – is:
(a) Causes, induces, entices, or permits a child to engage in, or be used for, any explicit sexual conduct for the making of any sexually exploitative material; or
(b) Prepares, arranges for, publishes, produces, promotes, makes, sells, finances, offers, exhibits, advertises, deals in, distributes, transports or transfers to another person, or makes accessible to another person, including, but not limited to, through digital or electronic means, any sexually exploitative material; or
(b.5) Accesses with intent to view, views, possesses, or controls any sexually exploitative material for any purpose; except that this subsection (3)(b.5) does not apply to law enforcement personnel, defense counsel personnel, or court personnel in the performance of their official duties, nor does it apply to physicians, psychologists, therapists, or social workers, so long as such persons are licensed in the state of Colorado and the persons possess such materials in the course of a bona fide treatment or evaluation program at the treatment or evaluation site; or
(c) Possesses with the intent to deal in, sell, or distribute, including but not limited to distributing through digital or electronic means, any sexually exploitative material; or
(d) Causes, induces, entices, or permits a child to engage in, or be used for, any explicit sexual conduct for the purpose of producing a performance, or accesses with intent to view or views explicit sexual conduct in the form of a performance involving a child if the conduct in the performance was caused, induced, enticed, requested, directed, or specified by the viewer or potential viewer.
It seems like the biggest issue law enforcement had with the actions of the administrators was the collection of the images and uploading them to the network. This would likely fall under subsection (b) for storing it and making it available on the network.
What Does Complicity to Commit Sexual Exploitation Mean in Colorado Criminal Charges?
Under Colorado law, Complicity – C.R.S. 18-1-603 – is defined as:
Basically, a person is held accountable as if they committed the crime, even if they didn’t actually do it. So, it could be that the second administrator knew that the first was collecting and loading the images to the network. Or maybe he was a part of a conversation where the first administrator admitted he was going to do this and the second administrator agreed. While the second administrator may not have collected or uploaded the images, he will be facing the same level charges as if he had.
If you or someone you love has been charged with Sexual Exploitation of a Child, be smart, exercise your right to remain silent, and contact the best criminal defense attorneys from the O’Malley Law Office at 970-658-0007 to schedule your free initial consultation. Together, we can protect your future.
Photo by Marta Branco