New CO bill would increase punishment for child pornography crimes
DENVER, Colo. (KRDO) -- A new bill proposed to the Colorado state legislature would enhance enforcement of crimes related to sexual exploitation of a child by creating a fund for law enforcement investigations and increasing prison time in some cases.
To help prosecute crimes related to child pornography, House Bill 20-1120 would establish a monetary grant specifically for law enforcement investigating those crimes. That grant would be funded by creating a surcharge for any person convicted of sexual exploitation of a child. With the new program, 95% of each surcharge would go to funding the grant.
Guilty parties would be required to pay a surcharge amount depending on the level of their felony conviction:
- Class 3 felony: $2,000
- Class 4 felony: $1,000
- Class 5 felony: $500
- Class 6 felony: $250
- A juvenile convicted of sexual exploitation of a child is not required to pay an additional surcharge.
The bill would also increase the maximum prison time in certain cases. The bill makes sexual exploitation of a child an extraordinary risk crime if the sexually exploitive material depicts a child who is under 12, who is subjected to physical force or who is subjected to sexual intercourse.
In those cases, the maximum penalties for each felony class would increase:
- Class 3 felonies: Increase of four years
- Class 4 felonies: Increase of two years
- Class 5 felonies: Increase of one year
- Class 6 felonies: Increase of six months
The bill is sponsored by Carver and Roberts in the House and Gardner and Fields in the state Senate. To read the full text, see here.
