Former Colorado Springs Public Defender barred from practicing law after ‘revenge porn’ incident
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- A former attorney with the Public Defenders Office in Colorado Springs has been suspended from practicing law for 90 days after an investigation into his conduct with a former mistress. 41-year-old Christopher Melichar pleaded guilty to posting a private image for harassment, namely sending sexually explicit videos to his mistress's husband, as a form of revenge.
According to the narrative of the investigation into his conduct, Melichar was involved in a relationship with a married woman in August 2020, during his time as a public defender. The report says he received, took, and threatened to share nude pictures of the woman. The woman claimed she did not consent to the pictures being taken because she was too intoxicated to consent at the time.
After refusing to continue a sexual relationship with him, Melichar sent nude photos and a video depicting her giving him oral sex to the woman's husband. The husband alerted police and Melichar was arrested on misdemeanor charges.
After pleading guilty in May 2021 and being sentenced to 2-years of unsupervised probation in December 2022, Melichar found himself under investigation by the Colorado Attorney Regulation Counsel.
"They're essentially the prosecuting body, so attorney regulation counsel prosecutes the case," Colorado Springs Defense Attorney Jeremy Loew explained. "Oftentimes it's in front of a panel of judges. If for some reason the attorney that's being prosecuted is able to reach a deal, then that's it. In this case, attorney regulation counsel prosecuted this attorney and they came to a resolution, a 90-day suspension."
According to disciplinary records, Melichar's suspension could reach a maximum of one year and one day if he fails to complete the requirements of his 90-day suspension.
"Now, if he's successful through those 90 days, not committing any new violations, not performing any legal work, then it's done, Loew said. "It's not uncommon when attorneys pick up cases like DUI or domestic violence or even more serious offenses than DUIs for there to be bigger suspensions."
According to Melichar's Linkedin account, he was employed by the Public Defender's Office until September 2022, before starting Altitude Legal Defense Group PLLC, where he currently works as an attorney.
This means the Public Defender's Office continued to employ him even after pleading guilty to sending nude photos without the woman's consent. 13 Investigates attempted to reach the Public Defender's Office in Colorado Springs for comment, but never received a reply.
"It is a little surprising that the public defender's office kept him on, but it's not absolutely shocking. They were in need of lawyers at the time. It was in the middle of the pandemic. So it's not absolutely unheard of that they would have kept him on," Loew said.
Melichar's attorney, Adam Yoast, told 13 Investigates he and his former mistress have made amends and are expecting a child together in October. They felt the 90-day suspension was the best resolution all involved.
