If you have been accused of a sexual assault in Colorado, then you should seek the help of a qualified criminal defense lawyer immediately. The consequences of a conviction on a sex crime can be devastating to victims and their families.
In Colorado, assault laws are based on state and federal law. This means that if you have been charged with this crime, then you should consider getting a reputable Colorado sex crime attorney to help you fight the charges against you.
You may be facing serious charges such as assault, sexual abuse, kidnapping, sex trafficking and more, so it is important that you find an experienced attorney to represent you.
- According to Colorado law on sexual assault laws, “sex” includes any sexual contact, however incidental or unperformed, conducted by two or more persons for sexual satisfaction. Colorado also defined sexual conduct as “any sexual intercourse or nudity”, “voyeurism”, “striptease and grope” and “unlawful touching”. Therefore, if the alleged victim has engaged in these activities, then he/she could be charged with this particular crime. Also, several types of consent have been added in Colorado’s Sexual Assault Law:
- In instances where the alleged victim asserts that he/she didn’t know what he/she was doing, the crime can still be carried out. However, proving “unreasonable doubt” on the part of the alleged victim can be difficult in such cases. “reasonable doubt” is defined as “a doubt as to whether a fact exists which would cause a reasonable person to suspect that the event did occur”. This means that if there is reasonable doubt about the sex crime, then the defendant could still be convicted. Thus, you need to hire a skilled and knowledgeable sexual assault lawyer to protect your legal rights.
- Proving “maliciousness” as a defense against this charge is one of the most difficult hurdles that you have to clear. For this reason, the crime itself can be treated as a “misunderstanding” between two individuals. However, “maliciousness” is not used in the same context as “guilt” in our penal code. “Maliciousness” in this instance refers to the state of mind of the accused, which can be proved by connecting him/her to the scene of the crime and by explaining why the victim died or was injured. However, this type of defense is rarely successful in court because the state of mind of the alleged perpetrator usually removes all doubt from the jury’s mind.
- One Colorado penal law book states, “No man shall engage in sexual intercourse with any woman” without “putting his sexual organs into her”. However, the law also stipulates, “No woman may accuse any man under any circumstances in which he believes that he is not performing the act”. Therefore, if a prosecuting attorney uses the words “any woman may accuse” in their closing arguments, then it is more likely that the jury will find the defendant not guilty.
- However, a Colorado criminal defense attorney may inform the jury that “any woman, who accuses a man of rape, whether she did so or not, must stand on the sole testimony of the victim to prove their claim”. If this were allowed, then any testimony from the victim could be considered as hearsay, which would strengthen the prosecution’s argument.
Colorado’s sex assault laws are very complicated and the details of each of their elements can become quite confusing. However, if you or someone you know has been charged with any of these offenses, it is highly recommended that you retain a competent legal advisor to help navigate through the legal system and to represent your best interests. This is especially true if the allegations are serious and related to a physical injury or life threatening circumstances.
A lawyer with experience defending sexual assault offenses can help ensure that your rights are protected and that your legal rights are not being trampled on due to lack of knowledge or inexperience.
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