Charges of Sexual Exploitation of a Child (CRS 18-6-403), and Contributing to the Delinquency of a Minor (CRS 18-6-701) have been filed against a Douglas County Sheriff's Deputy and a teacher at a Douglas County High School. These arrests have rocked the community, but are not uncommon charges in Denver, Jefferson, or Weld County and across Colorado. The media is continuing to speculate these two arrests may be linked to each other, but law enforcement has declined to release any more information. The sheriff's deputy has been fired because the sheriff's department found he violated policy. The teacher has been put on administrative as the investigation into his Sexual Exploitation of a Child charges drag on.

Both of these men were respected members in the Douglas County community, and held positions of trust in their respective careers. Even so, law enforcement is no doubt treating these cases as “guilty until proven innocent.” These men should hire an experienced criminal defense attorney to navigate the investigation as best they can.

Sexual Exploitation of a Child charges result from a person possessing child pornography on their computer, laptop, smartphone, or tablet. Police usually gather evidence as they track images and documents in peer-to-peer network sharing sites, such as LimeWire. They track the ISP number to a certain address, obtain a warrant to seize electronic equipment at the address, and search the hard drive for any evidence of child pornography in Arapahoe or Adams County. Images can even be brought up that have been deleted. Since deleted images are not erased from the hard drive, any sort of pictures may be recovered with the right software, and police have this type of software. If the computer was previously owned by someone else who had engaged in child pornography and “erased” it before selling the computer, the new owner will most likely be held accountable for whatever images exist on the hard drive.

If police accuse you with charges of Sexual Exploitation of a Child, be smart, exercise your right to remain silent, and contact the experienced criminal defense attorneys at the O'Malley Law Office at 303-830-0880. Together, we can protect your future.