Sexual assault and rape are serious crimes in Colorado and the United States. If you get charged with either crime, it can make your future exceedingly difficult. Penalties include incarceration, fines, and the requirement to register as a sex offender, which is why avoiding a conviction is vital for your future.
Before you can build a defense against your charges, you need to understand what sexual assault and rape are according to the law. Many people use the two crimes interchangeably, but in reality, these are two very different crimes.
Each crime is perpetrated differently under Colorado law and comes with unique penalties. Read on to find out all you need to know.
Colorado Rape and Sexual Assault
In Colorado, rape requires sexual penetration. Sexual assault can qualify as rape if unwanted sexual penetration is knowingly perpetrated on any part of the victim’s body. These acts can include:
- Oral sex
- Fingering
- Vaginal intercourse
- Penetration with an object
- Anal sex
There is also a non-consensual and unwanted aspect to this type of crime. This can include situations such as:
- The victim said no, but the penetration took place anyway
- The victim was unable to consent due to mental debilitation, such as being drunk or high
- The victim was unable to consent because they were physically helpless
- The victim only consented because they were led to believe the person they were having sex with was their spouse
- The victim was in a custodial situation, such as a hospital or prison, and was unable to give consent freely
- There was no legitimate medical purpose for penetration that occurred in a medical setting
To further complicate matters, Colorado law also addresses statutory rape, which is sex with someone below the legal age of consent (17). If you have sex with someone who is under age 17, they are unable to consent legally, and what occurs is considered rape unless one of these scenarios is true:
- The perpetrator is 10 years or less older than a victim between the ages of 15 and 16
- The perpetrator is four years or less older than a victim who is age 15 or less
No matter the victim’s age, in a scenario involving statutory rape, a person cannot be found guilty if they are married to an underage person.
Rape Penalties in Colorado
If you get convicted of rape in Colorado, you face stiff penalties. If there was no force or other aggravating circumstances in the rape case against you, then you face a Class 4 penalty, which can send you to prison for up to eight years and make you responsible for fines of as much as $5,000.
If you get convicted of rape involving:
- violence or physical force,
- the threat of force,
- drugging the victim without their consent, or
- threats of retaliation against the victim in the future,
it is considered a Class 3 felony. That is punishable by up to 16 years behind bars and fines of as much as $750,000.
For rape convictions where another person helped you perpetrate the crime, you used a deadly weapon or even simulated one, or you inflicted serious bodily injury on the victim, you face penalties for a Class 2 felony. A conviction can send you to prison for up to 24 years and require you to pay fines of as much as $1 million.
Unlawful Sexual Contact in Colorado
If you are facing charges, but the prosecutors cannot show that any penetration took place, you may get charged with unlawful sexual contact rather than rape. This crime occurs when someone knowingly touches a victim’s intimate parts without their consent or causes the victim (again, without consent) to touch the perpetrator’s intimate parts. This includes actions such as groping.
In most cases, unlawful sexual contact is a Class 1 misdemeanor, but it’s also considered a crime of extraordinary risk. Extraordinary risk crimes have increased penalties. In this case, even though it’s a misdemeanor, you can still face up to two years in jail and fines of $5,000 if convicted.
There is also felony unlawful sexual contact, which is when the threat of force or force gets used in the commission of the crime, the victim was intimidated or coerced, or the victim was drugged. If you get convicted of this, you face up to eight years behind bars and fines of up to $500,000.
About the Author:
Kimberly Diego is a criminal defense attorney in Denver practicing at The Law Office of Kimberly Diego. She obtained her undergraduate degree from Georgetown University and her law degree at the University of Colorado. She was named one of Super Lawyers’ “Rising Stars of 2012 & 2019-2022” and a “Top 100 Trial Lawyers in Colorado” for 2012-2022 by The National Trial Lawyers. Both honors are limited to a small percentage of practicing attorneys in each state. Additionally, Expertise names her to its lists of the 25 Best Denver DUI Lawyers and 21 Best Denver Criminal Defense Lawyers, both in 2020-2022. Ms. Diego has also been recognized for her work in domestic violence cases.
