Colorado Laws
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Laws
Community Notification LawsLaws that allow or mandate law enforcement, criminal justice or corrections agencies to actively notify citizens of certain convicted sex offenders living in their communities. These laws are distinct from sex offender registration laws.
Conviction
Found guilty, pleaded guilty (including Alford pleas) or nolo contendere, or received disposition as juvenile or adjudicated a juvenile delinquent. (Offenders receiving deferred judgments are subject to sex offender registration but cannot be found to be sexually violent predators or be subject to community notification.) Federal Sex Offender Laws
Require states to comply with the sex offender registration and notification process. These include:
The Jacob Wetterling Crimes Against Children and Sexually Violent Offender Registration Act (1994), which requires states to establish sex offender registration for convicted offenders, and a system to track them.
Megan's Law (1996), which requires states to inform community residents about the presence of convicted sex offenders in their neighborhoods.
The Pam Lychner Act (1997), which mandating lifetime registration for some sex offenders and a National Sex Offender Registry.
Protect Act (2003), which created Amber Alert program & requires all states to create Internet sex offender registries & to include child pornography offenders in registries.
Sex Offender
Sections 16-22-102(9) and 18-1.3-1008, C.R.S. define a sex offender as a person convicted of one of the following sex offenses:
Sexual assault in the first, second or third degree;
Unlawful sexual contact;
Sexual assault on a child;
Sexual assault on a child by one in a position of trust;
Sexual assault on a client by a psychotherapist;
Enticement of a child;
Incest;
Aggravated Incest;
Trafficking in children;
Sexual exploitation of children;
Procurement of a child for sexual exploitation;
Indecent exposure;
Soliciting for child prostitution;
Pandering of a child;
Procurement of a child for prostitution;
Keeping a place of child prostitution;
Pimping of a child;
Inducement of child prostitution;
Patronizing a prostituted child;
Engaging in Sexual Conduct in a Penal Institution;
Wholesale Promotion of Obscenity to Minors; and
Promotion o Obscenity to Minors
Criminal attempt, conspiracy or solicitation to commit any of the above offenses.
Sexually Violent Predator (SVP)
1) Per 18-3-414.5 C.R.S., a "Sexually violent predator" is an offender:
(I) Who is eighteen years of age or older as of the date the offense is committed or who is less than eighteen years of age as of the date the offense is committed but is tried as an adult;
(II) Who has been convicted on or after July 1, 1999, of one of the following offenses committed on or after July 1, 1997:
(A) Sexual assault in the first, second, or third degree (felony);
(B) Unlawful sexual contact;
(D) Sexual assault on a child;
(E) Sexual assault on a child by one in a position of trust;
(III) Whose victim was a stranger to the offender or a person with whom the offender established or promoted a relationship primarily for the purpose of sexual victimization; and
(IV) Who, based upon the results of a risk assessment screening instrument developed by the division of criminal justice in consultation with and approved by the sex offender management board, is likely to subsequently commit one or more of the offenses specified in subparagraph (II) under the circumstances described in subparagraph (III).
Based on the results of such assessment, the court or parole board shall make specific findings of fact and enter an order concerning whether the defendant is a sexually violent predator.
Local Community Notification Teams
Teams convened and led by local law enforcement agencies and utilized when conducting community notification. Teams are comprised of child abuse and sex crimes investigators, prosecutors, supervising probation or parole officers, victim advocates or service providers, and sex offender treatment providers. Team members are utilized at different times depending on the requirements of a particular community notification meeting.
Sex Offender Management Board (SOMB)
The Colorado Sex Offender Management Board (SOMB) is a multi-discliplinary Board created in 1992 by the Colorado legislature to develop Standards & Guidelines for the Assessment, Evaluation, Treatment & Behavioral Monitoring of Adult Sex Offenders. SOMB has also developed Lifetime Supervision Criteria, Standards for Developmentally Disabled Sex Offenders, & Standards & Guidelines for the Evaluation, Assessment, Treatment & Supervision of Juveniles Who Have Committed Sexual Offenses. SOMB Standards are designed to establish a basis for the systematic management & treatment of sex offenders which is intended to improve community safety & protect victims. SOMB is committed to research-based policy development, identifying best practices in sex offender management, as well as utilizing a victim and public safety approach in the development of sex offender management policies.
Vigilantism
For the purposes of this document, it is the unlawful attacking or harassment of an identified sex offender, his/her significant others, his/her property, or any member of his/her community supervision team.
The following persons (adults and juveniles) are required to register as sex offenders if they were:
Convicted on or after July 1, 1991 in Colorado or any other state or jurisdiction of an unlawful sexual offense, as defined in 18-3-411 (1), C.R.S., or enticement of a child, as described in 18-3-305, (generally considered to be any sex offense against children).
Released on or after July 1, 1991 from the department of corrections (DOC) having served a sentence for an unlawful sexual offense, as defined in 18-3-411(1) C.R.S., or enticement of a child, as described in 18-3-305,
On or after July 1, 1994, convicted of or received a deferred sentence in Colorado or any other state of an offense involving unlawful sexual behavior, and including criminal attempts, conspiracy, or solicitation, (generally considered to by ANY sex offense or other offense where the underlying factual basis includes sexual behavior.)
Required to register in another state or jurisdiction for a sex offense, or another state or jurisdiction of an offense which requires registration on CO.
Sex offenders must register under all names they have ever used.
