Getting arrested for DUI does not mean you will be convicted. Police misconduct, defective breathalyzers and crime lab mistakes may be enough to get your charges lessened or dismissed. Visit our page on Colorado DUI Laws to learn more.
Colorado DUI
Getting arrested for DUI does not mean you will be convicted. Police misconduct, defective breathalyzers and crime lab mistakes may be enough to get your charges lessened or dismissed. Visit our page on Colorado DUI Laws to learn more.
Colorado In-Depth
It is normal to be frightened and overwhelmed following an arrest. Therefore our lawyers are devoted to demystifying major topics in Colorado criminal defense law.
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Call Us NowColorado Revised Statute 18-3-405.6 states that “a person who knowingly observes or takes a photograph of another person’s intimate parts without that person’s consent, in a situation where the person observed or photographed has a reasonable expectation of privacy, for the purpose of the observer’s own sexual gratification, commits unlawful invasion of privacy for sexual gratification.”
The chart below illustrates the possible penalties:
Circumstances of the offense | Penalties |
|
Class 1 misdemeanor: Up to 18 months in county jail, and/or up to $1,000. |
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Class 6 felony: 1 to 2 years in prison and/or $1,000 to $100,000. |
To help you better understand the law, our Denver, Colorado criminal defense attorneys discuss the following:
Colorado Revised Statute § 18-3-405.6 criminalizes invasion of privacy for sexual gratification (IPSG), which comprises these five elements:
Examples of places where people have a reasonable expectation of privacy are if they are:
Note that sexual gratification refers to you experiencing sexual pleasure or arousal at beholding the victim’s intimate parts without their consent. There is no requirement that you orgasm or exhibit any other physical sign of pleasure to meet the legal definition of experiencing sexual gratification.1
Invasion of privacy for sexual gratification is usually a class 1 misdemeanor. It is also considered a Colorado “extraordinary risk” crime. As such, the maximum sentence is 6 months longer than other Colorado class 1 misdemeanors.
Misdemeanor penalties for invasion of privacy for sexual gratification can include:
Invasion of privacy for sexual gratification becomes a Colorado class 6 felony when:
Since the invasion of privacy for sexual gratification is an extraordinary risk crime, consequences of a felony conviction for privacy invasion can include this modified sentencing range:
If you are convicted of (or plead guilty or no contest to) invasion of privacy for sexual gratification, you will be required to register as a Colorado sex offender. If you have no subsequent sex offenses, you can petition the court to remove your name from the registry after:
In addition, your name and information may be made available to the public if:
If you are not sentenced to prison, you will likely be assigned to the Sex Offender Intensive Supervision Program (SOISP), which is an intensive probation program with strict restrictions.
Your CRS 18-3-405.6 case may include additional charges of
if the D.A. alleges you unlawfully entered another structure or crossed onto another person’s property in order to take the photo. These crimes can be misdemeanors or felonies depending on the circumstances of the case.
Here at Colorado Legal Defense Group, we have represented literally thousands of people charged with sex crimes such as invasion of privacy for sexual gratification, and most of these cases involve photos or videos. In our experience, the following five defenses have proven very effective with prosecutors, judges and juries:
Perhaps someone else used your phone. Or perhaps your phone malfunctioned and took the photo without your instruction. Or perhaps the photo came from someone else’s camera, and they changed the photo’s metadata to frame you.
As long as there is no video of you taking the photo, it may be possible to raise a “reasonable doubt” as to your guilt. This may be enough to prompt the D.A. to reduce or drop the charge.
No crime occurred if the subject of the photo consented to it being taken. Evidence we use to prove consent includes:
If necessary, we can use the alleged victim’s “prior inconsistent statements” to impeach them on the witness stand during cross-examination. Once we damage their credibility, the D.A. may be willing to dismiss the case.
If the photo was taken in a public place or where the public could see in – such as through an open window – then we would argue that the alleged victim had no reasonable expectation of privacy.
We would use such evidence as video footage, eyewitness accounts, and GPS records to show where you and the alleged victim were at the time you took the photo. Once the D.A. sees that the alleged victim cannot claim a reasonable expectation of privacy, they may offer to dismiss the charge.
CRS 18-3-405.6 charges are inapplicable if the purpose you took the photo had nothing to do with sexual gratification. For example, perhaps you took the photo for artistic purposes or to test if your camera was working correctly.
Arguing that you lacked sexual intent is a powerful defense because prosecutors have no way to show what was going on in your head definitively. As long as a reasonable doubt exists as to your motivation for taking the photo, then criminal charges should not stand.
Police make mistakes all the time. If law enforcement found the photo through an unconstitutional search, then we would ask the judge to “suppress” the photo as evidence.
If the judge agrees to disregard the photo as evidence, then the prosecution may be left with too weak a case to continue. At that point, the D.A. may offer a charge reduction or dismiss the case altogether.
For more in-depth information, refer to these scholarly articles:
(1) A person who knowingly observes or takes a photograph of another person’s intimate parts without that person’s consent, in a situation where the person observed or photographed has a reasonable expectation of privacy, for the purpose of the observer’s own sexual gratification, commits unlawful invasion of privacy for sexual gratification.
(2)(a) Except as otherwise provided in paragraph (b) of this subsection (2), invasion of privacy for sexual gratification is a class 1 misdemeanor and is an extraordinary risk crime subject to the modified sentencing range specified in section 18-1.3-501(3).
(b) Invasion of privacy for sexual gratification is a class 6 felony and is an extraordinary risk crime subject to the modified sentencing range specified in section 18-1.3-401(10) if either of the following circumstances exist:
(I) The offense is committed subsequent to a prior conviction, as defined in section 16-22-102(3), C.R.S., for unlawful sexual behavior as defined in section 16-22-102(9), C.R.S.; or
(II) The person observes or takes a photograph of the intimate parts of a person under fifteen years of age. This subparagraph (II) shall not apply if the defendant is less than four years older than the person observed or photographed.
(3) For purposes of this section, “photograph” includes a photograph, motion picture, videotape, live feed, print, negative, slide, or other mechanically, electronically, or chemically produced or reproduced visual material.