When a former prep school headmaster was facing 25 counts of Sexual Exploitation of a Child – or Child Pornography – charges, he was offered a plea deal of 4 years in prison. After rejecting the deal, he pushed forward with his trial choosing waive his right to a jury trial and having his case heard before the judge. The judge ended up finding him guilty of all 25 counts and sentenced him to two years on each count for a total of 50 years in prison. In hindsight, the 4 years he was originally offered seems like a pretty good deal.
Plea Deals in Larimer County
It is always a good idea to consider a plea deal.
As experienced criminal defense attorneys, we know there are no guarantees in taking a case to trial. That is why it is always a good idea to consider a plea deal. Plea bargains are valuable to both the defense and the prosecution. In Larimer, Boulder, and Grand County, trials are expensive and time consuming for the prosecution. For the defense, a trial carries the risk of the unknown and sentencing can be much worse after being found guilty. This was definitely the case for the man above. In the deal the DA offered him, he probably only had to plead guilty to one or two of the counts of Sexual Exploitation of a Child, which is why he would have only been facing 4 years in prison. Because he took the case to trial, he was vulnerable to being found guilty and sentenced on all 25 of the counts. An additional mistake was accepting a court trial. A judge is more prone to convict than a jury.
Sexual Exploitation of a Child in Fort Collins
Colorado law defines C.R.S. 18-6-403 – Sexual Exploitation of a Child – as:
(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, including but not limited to publishing through digital or electronic means, produces, promotes, makes, sells, finances, offers, exhibits, advertises, deals in, or distributes, including but not limited to distributing through digital or electronic means, any sexually exploitative material; or
(b.5) Possesses or controls any sexually exploitative material for any purpose; 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.
Also known as Possession of Child Pornography, this crime can be a class 3, class 4, or class 6 felony in Fort Collins, Loveland, and Estes Park.