Sending or showing obscene material, like pornography, to anyone under the age of 18 can result in Promotion of Obscenity to a Minor charges in Fort Collins, Loveland, and Estes Park. A teacher recently pled guilty to the equivalent of this crime for sharing explicit images of himself with three female students via snapchat. According to the report, one of the girls also was sent a video of the teacher masturbating. As a felony crime, the teacher is facing prison time for sharing the images.
Larimer County Promotion of Obscenity to a Minor Lawyer: Definition of Obscenity and Obscene
The Larimer, Boulder, and Grand County, Colorado law definition of Promotion of Obscenity to a Minor – C.R.S. 18-7-102(2.5) – is:
(I) Promotes to a minor or possesses with intent to promote to a minor any obscene material; or
(II) Produces, presents, or directs an obscene performance involving a minor or participates in a portion thereof that is obscene or that contributes to its obscenity.
In order to determine if the images and video the teacher sent would meet the criteria of this crime, you must understand the legal definition of ‘obscene:’
(a) The average person, applying contemporary community standards, would find that taken as a whole appeals to the prurient interest in sex;
(b) Depicts or describes:
(I) Patently offensive representations or descriptions of ultimate sex acts, normal or perverted, actual or simulated, including sexual intercourse, sodomy, and sexual bestiality; or
(II) Patently offensive representations or descriptions of masturbation, excretory functions, sadism, masochism, lewd exhibition of the genitals, the male or female genitals in a state of sexual stimulation or arousal, or covered male genitals in a discernibly turgid state
Since the pictures were sexual in nature, especially the video, then they would be considered obscene.
Sentence for Promotion of Obscenity to a Minor in Loveland and Fort Collins
As a class 6 felony in Loveland, Fort Collins, and Wellington, Promotion of Obscenity to a Minor is punishable by 12 to 18 months in the Colorado Department of Corrections and up to $100,000 in fines.
If you or someone you love has been charged with Promotion of Obscenity to a Minor, 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 today. Together, we can protect your future.
Image Source: Pixabay-TeroVesalainen