Proposed legislation could make sexting a misdemeanor; prominent Colorado attorney pushes for action

The sexting scandal involving high school students in Canon City sparked a national conversation about the problem.

Now, the Colorado District Attorneys Council is drafting legislation to take the crime from a felony to a misdemeanor.

Arapahoe County District Attorney George Brauchler knows a thing or two about high-profile cases, he prosecuted James Holmes. Brauchler is an early supporter of a bill in its infant stages.

“Prosecutors need to have more tools in the tools box to help them improve justice in cases just like this one,” Brauchler said.

Earlier this month, hundreds of Canon City high school students were caught in a sexting scandal. Charges are pending.

Democratic state senator and longtime lawyer, Pete Lee, believes the youth who may be convicted should not have to register as a sex offender.

“I feel children should be charged with felonies for sending inappropriate materials through their cell phones, certainly not,” Lee said.

Lee prefers to decriminalize most sexting cases and have consequences imposed at the school level.

“Kids make mistakes,” Lee said. “We have what many people call the school-to prison-pipeline.”

Brauchler argues legislation to ease the punishment for students in sexting cases is critical to those kids’ future.

“Keep these short-term bad decisions by juveniles from becoming something that creates long term or permanent problems,” Brauchler said.

A Quinnipiac poll shows more than 60 percent of Coloradans say kids shouldn’t be expelled from school for sexting and more than 70 percent say they should not face criminal charges.