Child Enticement
On the surface, the term “child enticement” is a vague term that, outside of legal circles, is not easily understood. In past years, child enticement meant engaging children for the purpose of luring them into sexual activities.
As technology has broadened, this kind of criminal activity in Denver has taken on added importance and frequency, because the Internet is often used as a means of contacting children and soliciting them into pornography, sexual abuse, pandering and prostitution. Child enticement is now considered an umbrella term that incorporates many different types of criminal activity.
Throughout the state of Colorado and in the Denver area, child enticement laws have been enacted to protect someone who is younger than 18 years old. Some specific statutes on the books in the state include:
Internet Luring – It is illegal to describe explicit sexual conduct and attempt to meet a child over the Internet or a cell phone when a child is, at least, four years younger than a defendant and whom a defendant believes is less than age 15.
Distributing Indecent Material – It is illegal to send a child pornography or any materials that portray nudity and sexual activity for the purposes of attempting to engage in sexual activity with the child. The can include intercourse, sexually explicit material or child pornography.
Internet Sexual Exploitation – It is illegal to use technological means such as a cell phone or the Internet to invite a child to engage in sexual activities such as touching or masturbating while watching each other.
Child Enticement – If a child is younger than 15 years old, it is illegal to invite them to a secluded place for the purposes of having unlawful sex or committing sexual assault on the child. It is important to note that children under age 18 cannot legally consent to sex, so if the claim is made that a child went willingly, that is not considered a valid defense.