A survey of the state laws nationwide that deal with sexual offenses reveals an explosion of new laws to cover every conceivable sex act, and including a number of acts that are only sexually suggestive. Furthermore, state laws on sexual conduct are often duplicative of each other. In order to defend against a slew of sex offenses under Colorado law, a defendant is well-advised to find a criminal defense counsel who has done substantial work in the subject area.
A 50-year-old science teacher at Pueblo West High School was recently arrested for several alleged sex offenses not involving one of his students. He is charged with sexual exploitation of a child, illegal sexual contact, and sexual assault on a child by one in position of authority. There appear to be other charges along with those.
The arrest affidavit says the teacher made a video of touching himself and a victim, whose age is not revealed. She was asleep on the couch and did not know it happened, according to police. Initial reports don’t give further details on whether he was dressed or undressed at the time. The nature of what kind of “touching” was involved is not explained.
If that is the sole incident in the arrest affidavit, then there could arguably be a defense to the some or all of the charges. Although the official charges sound serious, the reported actions by the defendant do not seem to rise to the level of serious illegality, at least not without further details. If further information reveals a legitimate video of the defendant actually touching a young girl sexually, then the evidence will possibly be conclusive.
However, in Colorado and other jurisdictions, it is also necessary that police procedures be constitutionally valid in order to convict someone on sex offenses. It is not explained how the police came to possess the video, and if it was through a search, then a warrant and probable cause must be proved. The prosecution will have to prove each element of the charges by independent, admissible evidence of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
