In Fort Collins and Larimer County, Sexual Assault is charged when a person has sex with another without consent. Under Colorado law, there are various forms of consent and non-consent, which we will discuss later in the blog. Recently, I saw an article depicting an illustration of a man who is wanted for an alleged violent Sexual Assault in Boulder County. What struck me most about the article was that the man’s face was almost completely covered. He was wearing a face covering, as is required in many places, which I think would seemingly make it more difficult to identify him. Really, you would just be able to describe height, hair, and eyes, while the rest of the face remains a mystery. It’s not uncommon for those intending to commit a crime to cover their face (like during a Robbery), but with the current pandemic situation, as mask wearing becomes more ubiquitous, will it become more difficult to identify people? I guess time will tell.
Larimer County Sexual Assault Attorney: Definition of Sexual Assault Wearing a Mask
The Larimer County, Colorado law definition of Sexual Assault – C.R.S. 18-3-402 – is:
(a) The actor causes submission of the victim by means of sufficient consequence reasonably calculated to cause submission against the victim’s will; or
(b) The actor knows that the victim is incapable of appraising the nature of the victim’s conduct; or
(c) The actor knows that the victim submits erroneously, believing the actor to be the victim’s spouse; or
(d) At the time of the commission of the act, the victim is less than fifteen years of age and the actor is at least four years older than the victim and is not the spouse of the victim; or
(e) At the time of the commission of the act, the victim is at least fifteen years of age but less than seventeen years of age and the actor is at least ten years older than the victim and is not the spouse of the victim; or
(f) The victim is in custody of law or detained in a hospital or other institution and the actor has supervisory or disciplinary authority over the victim and uses this position of authority to coerce the victim to submit, unless the act is incident to a lawful search; or
(g) The actor, while purporting to offer a medical service, engages in treatment or examination of a victim for other than a bona fide medical purpose or in a manner substantially inconsistent with reasonable medical practices; or
(h) The victim is physically helpless and the actor knows the victim is physically helpless and the victim has not consented.
Basically, subsections (a) – (h) outline the different situations related to consent. While not many details were given about the alleged Sexual Assault described above, it was labeled as violent, so likely, the man would be facing charges under subsection (a) – using force, threats or violence to cause submission against the victim’s will.