Contributing to the Delinquency of a Minor in Colorado
The attorneys at Rights & Liberties Law Firm are experienced attorneys in Colorado who defend people charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor charges.
Contributing to the delinquency of a minor is defined in Colorado’s contributing to the delinquency of a minor statute C.R.S. Section 18-6-701. The Colorado contributing to the delinquency of a minor statute defines contributing to the delinquency of a minor as follows:
C.R.S. 18-6-701, Colorado’s Contributing to the delinquency of a minor statute
(1)
(a) Any person who induces, aids, or encourages a child to violate any state law that is a felony victims rights act crime as defined in section 24-4.1-302(1) commits first degree contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
(b) Any person who induces, aids, or encourages a child to violate any municipal or county ordinance, court order, or state or federal law that is not a felony victims rights act crime as defined in section 24-4.1-302(1) commits second degree contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
(c) As used in this section, the term “child” means any person under the age of eighteen years.
(2)
(a) First degree contributing to the delinquency of a minor is a class 4 felony.
(b) Second degree contributing to the delinquency of a minor is a class 1 misdemeanor.
(3) When a person is convicted, pleads nolo contendere, or receives a deferred sentence for a violation of the provisions of this section and the court knows the person is a current or former employee of a school district in this state or holds a license or authorization pursuant to the provisions of article 60.5 of title 22, C.R.S., the court shall report such fact to the department of education.
Possible Penalties for Contributing to the Delinquency of a Minor in Colorado
Contributing to the delinquency of a minor can be charged as felony or misdemeanor depending on the alleged degree of the offense. The possible penalties for a contributing to the delinquency of a minor charge are serious. They include possible fines, restitution, probation, jail, and prison followed by parole. Additionally, a contributing to the delinquency of a minor conviction can result in serious collateral consequences including employment consequences, child custody consequences, housing consequences, immigration consequences, and many other civil consequences that can flow from a contributing to the delinquency of a conviction. Individuals employed in education who have been charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor can experience serious collateral consequences if convicted. This is because of Colorado’s mandatory reporting requirement which requires the court to report convictions, no contest pleas, even deferred judgements for contributing to the delinquency of minors to the Department of Education
Rights & Liberties Law Firm has assembled a possible penalties chart to help you better understand the possible penalties a person charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor in Colorado will face.
Degree of Contributing to the Delinquency of Minor
First Degree Contributing to the Delinquency of a Minor 18-6-701(2)(a)
Second Degree Contributing to the Delinquency of a Minor 18-6-701(2)(b)
Possible Penalties
Class 4 Felony
- 2-6 years in Colorado State Prison or Community Corrections followed by 3 years of mandatory parole; or
- Probation; and/or
- $2,000 – $500,000 fine;
- Restitution
Class 1 Misdemeanor
- 364 days jail; or
- Probation;
- And up to a $1,000 fine;
- Restitution
Degree of Contributing to the Delinquency of Minor
First Degree Contributing to the Delinquency of a Minor 18-6-701(2)(a)
Second Degree Contributing to the Delinquency of a Minor 18-6-701(2)(b)
Possible Penalties
Class 4 Felony
- 2-6 years in Colorado State Prison or Community Corrections followed by 3 years of mandatory parole; or
- Probation; and/or
- $2,000 – $500,000 fine;
- Restitution
Class 1 Misdemeanor
- 364 days jail; or
- Probation;
- And up to a $1,000 fine;
- Restitution
Defenses to Contributing to the Delinquency of a Minor in Colorado
General Denial
The accused will be acquitted if the prosecution cannot prove every element of the contributing to the delinquency of a minor offense beyond a reasonable doubt. When the accused raises a general denial defense, the accused denies that the criminal elements of the contributing to the delinquency of a minor exist. General denial is related to the failure of proof defense. The failure of proof defense arises when the accused pokes holes in the prosecution’s case and argues that the prosecution failed to prove each and every element of the offense beyond a reasonable doubt.
Lesser Included Offense Defense
In certain circumstances, the accused can raise the defense of lesser included offense in a contributing to the delinquency of a minor case by arguing that the accused is not guilty of the more serious degree of contributing to the delinquency of a minor but only guilty of the lesser degree of contributing to the delinquency of a minor. For example, a person charged with a first degree contributing to the delinquency of a minor who raises the lesser included offense defense may contend that the first degree contributing to the delinquency of a minor was really a second degree misdemeanor contributing to the delinquency of a minor. In lesser included offense defenses, the accused admits that the crime of contributing to the delinquency of a minor happened but challenges the severity and degree of the type of contributing to the delinquency of a minor alleged.
Duress
Under Colorado’s duress statute C.R.S. 18-1-708, a person may not be convicted of an offense, other than a class 1 felony, based upon conduct in which he engaged at the direction of another person because of the use or threatened use of unlawful force upon him or upon another person, which force or threatened use thereof a reasonable person in his situation would have been unable to resist. This defense is not available when a person intentionally or recklessly places himself in a situation in which it is foreseeable that he will be subjected to such force or threatened use thereof. The choice of evils defense, provided in section 18-1-702, shall not be available to a defendant in addition to the defense of duress provided under this section unless separate facts exist which warrant its application.
Entrapment
Under Colorado’s entrapment statute, C.R.S. 18-1-709, the commission of acts which would otherwise constitute an offense is not criminal if the defendant engaged in the proscribed conduct because he was induced to do so by a law enforcement official or other person acting under his direction, seeking to obtain evidence for the purpose of prosecution, and the methods used to obtain that evidence were such as to create a substantial risk that the acts would be committed by a person who, but for such inducement, would not have conceived of or engaged in conduct of the sort induced. Merely affording a person an opportunity to commit an offense is not entrapment even though representations or inducements calculated to overcome the offender’s fear of detection are used.
Statute of Limitations for Contributing to the Delinquency of a Minor in Colorado
In Colorado the statute of limitations for commencing criminal charges against a person is governed by C.R.S. Section 16-5-401. The statute of limitations for commencing criminal charges for Colorado contributing to the delinquency of a minor crimes is as follows:
- First Degree Contributing to the Delinquency of a Minor charges must be filed within 3 years. C.R.S. 16-5-401(1)(a.5)
- Second Degree Contributing to the Delinquency of a Minor charges must be filed within18 months C.R.S. 16-5-401(1)(a.5)
Contact the experienced attorneys at Rights & Liberties Law Firm to Fight for You Today
If you’ve been charged with a contributing to the delinquency of a minor offense contact the attorneys at Rights & Liberties Law Firm to vindicate your rights and protect your liberties. If you’re facing criminal charges or fear you may be charged time is of the essence. Start Your Free Criminal Defense Case Quote. By retaining Rights & Liberties Law Firm you can rest assured that:
- The attorneys at Rights & Liberties Law Firm will use experienced investigators and experts to look into the case to get ahead of the police and prosecutors, whether there has already been an arrest or an investigation is on-going;
- The attorneys at Rights & Liberties Law Firm will advocate for you during your bond hearing to get you released from custody on the lowest possible amount of bail or on a personal recognizance bond;
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- The attorneys at Rights & Liberties Law Firm are trial dogs. If you’re prepared to go all the way, so are we. We’ll take your case to the jury and fight with everything we’ve got to secure your acquittal.
- The attorneys at Rights & Liberties Law Firm are skilled negotiators. If you’ve made a mistake we will leave no stone unturned in presenting mitigation to contextualize your circumstances. We will obtain information and prepare a mitigation presentation or report to the prosecutor to present you in your best light and show the state and the judge that despite your mistakes you’re a dignified human being worthy of leniency and redemption. We will protect you from the overly punitive instincts of the criminal legal system and obtain the best plea bargain possible.
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- If you’re wondering why we do this work, we’re in it because we care. At Rights & Liberties Law Firm we believe that no individual’s crime holds a candle to the injustices meted out by our unusually cruel overly punitive criminal legal system. At Rights & Liberties Law Firm we fight for people whose talents, dreams, and lives have been put on hold by a criminal accusation. Let us fight for you.