2023 Colorado Revised Statutes › Title 18 - CRIMINAL CODE (§§ 18-1-101 — 18-26-102) › Article 3 - OFFENSES AGAINST THE PERSON (§§ 18-3-101 — 18-3-602) › Part 4 - UNLAWFUL SEXUAL BEHAVIOR (§§ 18-3-401 — 18-3-418) › Section 18-3-411 - Sex offenses against children - limitation for commencing proceedings - evidence - statutory privilege - definition

(1)
As used in this section, "unlawful sexual offense" means enticement of a child, as described in section
18-3-305
; sexual assault, as described in section
18-3-402
, when the victim at the time of the commission of the act is a child less than fifteen years of age; sexual assault in the first degree, as described in section
18-3-402
, as it existed prior to July 1, 2000, when the victim at the time of the commission of the act is a child less than fifteen years of age; sexual assault in the second degree, as described in section
18-3-403 (1)(a), (1)(b), (1)(c), (1)(d), (1)(g), or (1)(h)
, as it existed prior to July 1, 2000, when the victim at the time of the commission of the act is a child less than fifteen years of age, or as described in section
18-3-403 (1)(e)
, as it existed prior to July 1, 2000, when the victim is less than fifteen years of age and the actor is at least four years older than the victim; unlawful sexual contact, as described in section
18-3-404 (1)(a), (1)(b), (1)(c), (1)(d), (1)(f), or (1)(g)
, when the victim at the time of the commission of the act is a child less than fifteen years of age; sexual assault in the third degree, as described in section
18-3-404 (1)(a), (1)(b), (1)(c), (1)(d), (1)(f), or (1)(g)
, as it existed prior to July 1, 2000, when the victim at the time of the commission of the act is a child less than fifteen years of age; sexual assault on a child, as described in section
18-3-405
; sexual assault on a child by one in a position of trust, as described in section
18-3-405.3
; aggravated incest, as described in section
18-6-302
; human trafficking of a minor for sexual servitude, as described in section
18-3-504 (2)
; sexual exploitation of a child, as described in section
18-6-403
; procurement of a child for sexual exploitation, as described in section
18-6-404
; indecent exposure, as described in section
18-7-302
; soliciting for child prostitution, as described in section
18-7-402
; pandering of a child, as described in section
18-7-403
; procurement of a child, as described in section
18-7-403.5
; keeping a place of child prostitution, as described in section
18-7-404
; pimping of a child, as described in section
18-7-405
; inducement of child prostitution, as described in section
18-7-405.5
; patronizing a prostituted child, as described in section
18-7-406
; class 4 felony internet luring of a child, as described in section
18-3-306 (3)
; internet sexual exploitation of a child, as described in section
18-3-405.4
; unlawful electronic sexual communication, as described in section
18-3-418
; or criminal attempt, conspiracy, or solicitation to commit any of the acts specified in this subsection (1).
(2)
No person shall be prosecuted, tried, or punished for a misdemeanor offense specified in section
18-3-402
or
18-3-404
, unless the indictment, information, complaint, or action for the same is found or instituted within five years after the commission of the offense. The limitation for commencing criminal proceedings and juvenile delinquency proceedings concerning unlawful sexual offenses that are felonies shall be governed by section
16-5-401 (1)(a)
, C.R.S.
(3)
An out-of-court statement made by a child, as "child" is defined under the statutes that are the subject of the action, or a person under fifteen years of age if "child" is undefined under the statutes that are the subject of the action, describing all or part of an offense of unlawful sexual behavior, as defined in section
16-22-102 (9)
, performed or attempted to be performed with, by, on, or in the presence of the child declarant, and that is not otherwise admissible by a statute or court rule that provides an exception to the hearsay objection, may be admissible pursuant to section
13-25-129 (2)
.
(4)
All cases involving the commission of an unlawful sexual offense shall take precedence before the court; the court shall hear these cases as soon as possible after they are filed.
(5)
The statutory privilege between the husband and the wife shall not be available for excluding or refusing testimony in any prosecution of an unlawful sexual offense.
(6)
Prosecution for any incident of sexual contact constituting the offense or any incident of sexual contact constituting a pattern offense of sexual abuse pursuant to section
18-3-405 (2)(d)
or
18-3-405.3 (2)(b)
may be commenced and the offenses charged in an information or indictment in a county where at least one of the incidents occurred or in a county where an act in furtherance of the offense was committed.
Amended by 2019 Ch. 145, § 4, eff. 7/1/2019.
Amended by 2019 Ch. 42, § 2, eff. 7/1/2019.
Amended by 2017 Ch. 97, § 4, eff. 4/4/2017.
Amended by 2015 Ch. 96, § 2, eff. 4/10/2015.
Amended by 2014 Ch. 282, § 17, eff. 7/1/2014.
L. 82: Entire section added, p. 313, § 1, effective July 1. L. 83: (3) added, p. 630, § 2, effective May 25; (4) and (5) added, p. 694, § 3, effective June 15. L. 85: (1) and (2) amended, p. 618, § 12, effective July 1. L. 88: (5) amended, p. 713, § 19, effective July 1. L. 91: (1) amended, p. 406, § 11, effective June 6. L. 94: (1) amended, p. 1717, § 10, effective July 1. L. 2000: (1) and (2) amended, p. 704, § 29, effective July 1. L. 2002: (2) amended, p. 1128, § 2, effective June 3. L. 2006: (1) amended, p. 2056, § 8, effective July 1; (2) amended, p. 413, § 4, effective July 1. L. 2010: (1) amended, (SB 10-140), ch. 538, p. 538, § 9, effective April 21. L. 2014: (1) amended, (HB 14-1273), ch. 1155, p. 1155, § 17, effective 7/1/2014. L. 2015: (3) amended, (HB 15 -1183), ch. 276, p. 276, § 2, effective April 10. L. 2017: (6) added, (HB 17 -1109), ch. 293, p. 293, § 4, effective April 4. L. 2019: (1) amended, (HB 19-1030), ch. 1760, p. 1760, § 4, effective July 1; (3) amended, (SB 19 -071), ch. 145, p. 145, § 2, effective July 1.
(1) Section 4 of chapter 42 (SB 19-071), Session Laws of Colorado 2019, provides that the act changing this section applies to proceedings occurring on or after July 1, 2019.
(2) Section 5 of chapter 145 (HB 19-1030), Session Laws of Colorado 2019, provides that the act changing this section applies to offenses committed on or after July 1, 2019.
For provisions concerning child abuse that are similar to the provisions of this section, see § 18-6-401.1 ; for the husband-wife privilege, see § 13-90-107 .