Colorado Rape and Sexual Assault Laws

Colorado Revised Statutes (C.R.S.) § 18-3-402 (Sexual assault)

C.R.S. § 18-3-404 (Unlawful sexual contact)

CRS § 18-3-401 (Definitions)

A person commits sexual assault if they knowingly sexually penetrate or sexually intrude upon a victim and the defendant does any of the following:

• Causes the victim to submit against their will (§ 18-3-402(1)(a))
• Knows the victim is incapable of appraising the nature of the victim’s conduct (§ 18-3-402(1)(b))
• Knows that the victim submitted erroneously, believing the actor to be the victim’s spouse (§ 18-3-402(1)(c))

A person also commits sexual assault if they knowingly sexually penetrate or sexually intrude upon a victim and the actor knows the victim is any of the following:

• Less than 15 years of age and the actor is at least four years older than them and is not the spouse of the victim (§ 18-3-402(1)(d))
• The victim is at least 15 years old but less than 17, and the actor is at least 10 years older than them and is not their spouse (§ 18-3-402(1)(e))
• The victim is in police custody or detained in a hospital or other institution, the actor is in a position of authority over them, and the actor uses their position to coerce the victim to submit (unless the act is incident to a lawful search) (§ 18-3-402(1)(f))
• The actor purports to offer a medical service or engages in treatment or examination of the victim for a reason other than a bona fide medical purpose or in a manner substantially inconsistent with reasonable medical practices (§ 18-3-402(1)(g))
• The actor knows the victim is physically helpless and has not consented (§ 18-3-402(1)(h))

Penalties

Sexual assault is a Class 4 felony. (§ 18-3-402(2)). But the classification and applicable penalties vary depending on the circumstances listed below.

• Violation of § 18-3-402(1)(e): Class 6 felony
• Violation of § 18-3-402(1)(h): Class 3 felony

If any of the following circumstances apply to a sexual assault, the actor is guilty of a Class 3 felony:

• The actor uses physical force or violence to cause the victim to submit.
• The actor uses threats of imminent death, serious bodily injury, extreme pain, or kidnapping (to the victim or anyone else) to cause the victim to submit, and the victim believes the actor has the present ability to execute the threats.
• The actor causes the victim to submit by threatening to retaliate against them (or another person) in the future, and the victim reasonably believes the actor will execute the threat.
• The actor, without the victim’s consent, used drugs, intoxicants, or other means to cause the victim’s submission and substantially impair their power to appraise or control their conduct.

The actor is guilty of a Class 2 felony if any of the following circumstances exist:

• Another person physically aided or abetted the actor in the commission of the sexual assault.
• The victim suffers serious bodily injury.
• The actor is armed with a deadly weapon (or an article that a person would reasonably believe was a deadly weapon) or represents that they have a deadly weapon and uses it to cause the victim to submit.

"Sexual contact" means the following (§ 18-3-401(4)(a)-(c)):

• The knowing touching of the victim’s intimate parts, or of the actor’s intimate parts by the victim, or the knowing touching of the clothing covering the immediate area of the victim’s or actor’s intimate parts if the sexual contact is for sexual arousal, gratification or abuse or
• The knowing emission or ejaculation of seminal fluid onto the victim’s body or clothing
• Knowing causing semen, blood, urine, feces, or a bodily substance to contact the victim or their clothing if that contact is for sexual arousal, gratification, or abuse

Someone commits unlawful sexual contact when someone subjects another person to sexual contact and one of the following factors is true (§ 18-3-404):

• The actor knows the victim does not consent (§ 18-3-404(1)(a))
• The actor knows the victim is incapable of appraising the nature of the victim’s conduct (§ 18-3-404(1)(b))
• The actor knows the victim is physically helpless and has not consented (§ 18-3-404(1)(c))
• The actor has substantially impaired the victim’s power to appraise or control their conduct through the use of alcohol, drugs, intoxicants, or other means without their consent for causing the victim to submit (§ 18-3-404(1)(d))
• The victim is in law enforcement’s custody or detained in a hospital or other institution, the actor is in a position of authority over them, and the actor uses their authority to coerce the victim to submit (except for lawful searches) (§ 18-3-404(1)(f))
• The actor engages in treatment or examination of the victim for other than a bona fide medical purpose or in a manner substantially inconsistent with reasonable medical practices (§ 18-3-404(1)(g))
• The actor knowingly induces or coerces a child by any of the above means to expose intimate parts, with or without sexual contact, or to engage in any sexual contact, intrusion, or penetration with another person for the actor’s own sexual gratification (§ 18-3-404(1.5))

Penalties

Unlawful sexual contact is a Class 1 misdemeanor (§ 18-3-404(2)(a)). But, it is a Class 4 felony if the actor does the following:

• Compel the victim to submit by using force, intimidation, or threats, or
• If they engage in the conduct described in either §§ 18-3-404(1)(g) or (1.5)

It’s not a defense that a defendant was married to the victim when the sexual assault happened unless specifically provided for in the statute. (§ 18-3-409)

• § 18-3-405 (Sexual assault on a child)
• § 18-3-405.6 (Invasion of privacy for sexual gratification)
• § 18-3-409 (Marital defense)
• § 18-3-411 (Sex offenses against children)
• § 18-3-415 (Testing for persons charged with sexual offense)
• § 18-3-418 (Unlawful electronic sexual communication — person in a position of trust)