Sexual Assault on a Client by a Psychotherapist Criminal Defense Attorneys in Colorado

Have you been charged with the crime § 18-3-405.5 Sexual Assault on a Client by a Psychotherapist? This is a serious charge and demands immediate legal representation and guidance. The Law Offices of Decker & Jones know how to successfully defend a §18-3-405.5 Sexual Assault on a Client by a Psychotherapist charge in the State of Colorado to protect your innocence.

What to do if Charged?

1. Do not contact the accuser

You may be tempted to contact the accuser to try and resolve the issue directly. Do not contact the accuser. All correspondence before and after the incident can and will be used against you. A lawyer should be representing you in all stages to ensure that nothing hurts the defense case.

2. Do not destroy evidence

You may think that destroying any evidence in your possession will help your defense case. However tampering with evidence will almost always backfire against the defendant. Prosecutors have many resources to recover evidence that you think has been completely destroyed. When the evidence is presented in negotiations or at trial, it will make you look more guilty if you tried to destroy it beforehand. Tampering with evidence is also a crime in itself, which can be added on top of the sentence you could receive for Sexual Assault on a Client by a Psychotherapist

3. Contact an experienced attorney

When you are charged with Sexual Assault on a Client by a Psychotherapist, it is critical to exercise your right to an attorney. Your life is on the line and The Law Offices of Decker & Jones are prepared to defend your case. Contact us immediately at 303-573-5253 – even if you have not been charged yet. You need a defense team working in your corner to combat the prosecution ASAP.

The Basics Of § 18-3-405.5 Sexual Assault on a Client by a Psychotherapist

See below to read the law pertaining to § 18-3-405.5 Sexual Assault on a Client by a Psychotherapist

The Law

Reference the definitions from § 18-3-405.5 for details on the terminology

Definitions

Decker & Jones will help you understand how the law pertains to your case

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§ 18-3-405.5

(1)(a) Any actor who knowingly inflicts sexual penetration or sexual intrusion on a victim commits aggravated sexual assault on a client if:

(I) The actor is a psychotherapist and the victim is a client of the psychotherapist; or

(II) The actor is a psychotherapist and the victim is a client and the sexual penetration or intrusion occurred by means of therapeutic deception.

(b) Aggravated sexual assault on a client is a class 4 felony.

(2)(a) Any actor who knowingly subjects a victim to any sexual contact commits sexual assault on a client if:

(I) The actor is a psychotherapist and the victim is a client of the psychotherapist; or

(II) The actor is a psychotherapist and the victim is a client and the sexual contact occurred by means of therapeutic deception.

(b) Sexual assault on a client is a class 1 misdemeanor.

(3) Consent by the client to the sexual penetration, intrusion, or contact shall not constitute a defense to such offense.

(4) As used in this section, unless the context otherwise requires:

(a) “Client” means a person who seeks or receives psychotherapy from a psychotherapist.

(b) “Psychotherapist” means any person who performs or purports to perform psychotherapy, whether the person is licensed or registered by the state pursuant to title 12, C.R.S., or certified by the state pursuant to part 5 of article 1 of title 25, C.R.S.

(c) “Psychotherapy” means the treatment, diagnosis, or counseling in a professional relationship to assist individuals or groups to alleviate behavioral or mental health disorders, understand unconscious or conscious motivation, resolve emotional, relationship, or attitudinal conflicts, or modify behaviors that interfere with effective emotional, social, or intellectual functioning.

(d) “Therapeutic deception” means a representation by a psychotherapist that sexual contact, penetration, or intrusion by the psychotherapist is consistent with or part of the client’s treatment.

(5) A person who is convicted on or after July 1, 2013, of sexual assault on a client by a psychotherapist under this section, upon conviction, shall be advised by the court that the person has no right:

(a) To notification of the termination of parental rights and no standing to object to the termination of parental rights for a child conceived as a result of the commission of that offense;

(b) To allocation of parental responsibilities, including parenting time and decision-making responsibilities for a child conceived as a result of the commission of that offense;

(c) Of inheritance from a child conceived as a result of the commission of that offense; and

(d) To notification of or the right to object to the adoption of a child conceived as a result of the commission of that offense.

§ 18-3-401 Definitions

As used in this part 4, unless the context otherwise requires:

(1) “Actor” means the person accused of a sexual offense pursuant to this part 4.

(1.5) “Consent” means cooperation in act or attitude pursuant to an exercise of free will and with knowledge of the nature of the act. A current or previous relationship shall not be sufficient to constitute consent under the provisions of this part 4. Submission under the influence of fear shall not constitute consent. Nothing in this definition shall be construed to affect the admissibility of evidence or the burden of proof in regard to the issue of consent under this part 4.

(1.7) “Diagnostic test” means a human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) screening test followed by a supplemental HIV test for confirmation in those instances when the HIV screening test is repeatedly reactive.

(2) “Intimate parts” means the external genitalia or the perineum or the anus or the buttocks or the pubes or the breast of any person.

(2.4) “Medical-reporting victim” means a victim who seeks medical treatment services following a sexual assault but who elects not to participate in the criminal justice system at the time the victim receives medical services.

(2.5) “Pattern of sexual abuse” means the commission of two or more incidents of sexual contact involving a child when such offenses are committed by an actor upon the same victim.

(3) “Physically helpless” means unconscious, asleep, or otherwise unable to indicate willingness to act.

(3.5) One in a “position of trust” includes, but is not limited to, any person who is a parent or acting in the place of a parent and charged with any of a parent’s rights, duties, or responsibilities concerning a child, including a guardian or someone otherwise responsible for the general supervision of a child’s welfare, or a person who is charged with any duty or responsibility for the health, education, welfare, or supervision of a child, including foster care, child care, family care, or institutional care, either independently or through another, no matter how brief, at the time of an unlawful act.

(4) “Sexual contact” means:

(a) The knowing touching of the victim’s intimate parts by the actor, or of the actor’s intimate parts by the victim, or the knowing touching of the clothing covering the immediate area of the victim’s or actor’s intimate parts if that sexual contact is for the purposes of sexual arousal, gratification, or abuse;

(b) The knowing emission or ejaculation of seminal fluid onto any body part of the victim or the clothing covering any body part of the victim; or

(c) Knowingly causing semen, blood, urine, feces, or a bodily substance to contact any body part of the victim or the clothing covering any body part of the victim if that contact with semen, blood, urine, feces, or a bodily substance is for the purpose of sexual arousal, gratification, or abuse.

(5) “Sexual intrusion” means any intrusion, however slight, by any object or any part of a person’s body, except the mouth, tongue, or penis, into the genital or anal opening of another person’s body if that sexual intrusion can reasonably be construed as being for the purposes of sexual arousal, gratification, or abuse.

(6) “Sexual penetration” means sexual intercourse, cunnilingus, fellatio, anilingus, or anal intercourse. Emission need not be proved as an element of any sexual penetration. Any penetration, however slight, is sufficient to complete the crime.

(7) “Victim” means the person alleging to have been subjected to a criminal sexual assault.

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