For charges of sexual conduct of a child / alleged victim that is 15 to 17 years of age, this is a class six felony and has a range of punishments of the following:
- Probation with zero (0) days in jail up to one (1) year in jail, or four (4) months in prison to two (2) years in prison for a first offense.
- If the person has one (1) allegeable historical prior conviction, then the “prison only” range is nine (9) months to two and three quarters (2.75) years in prison.
- If the person has two (2) allegeable historical prior convictions, then the “prison only” range is two and one quarter (2.25) to five and three quarters (5.75) years of incarceration.
If the alleged victim is between the ages of 12 and 14, this is a Class 2 Felony and carries the following punishments:
- The Judge can sentence the defendant to 13 years minimum in prison; 20 years presumptive in prison; and 27 years in prison maximum.
- If the defendant is convicted of two counts, then by law the Judge must “stack” or run these charges “consecutive”. This means the range of punishment now becomes 26 years minimum; 40 years presumptive; and 54 years maximum in prison (day-for-day prison time).
- If the defendant has previously been convicted of a predicate offense, (any Dangerous Crime Against a Child, or other crimes) the range of punishment is a minimum of 23 years, presumptive 30 years, and maximum 37 years incarceration.
If the child is 12 years of age or younger, then the judge has only two sentence choices:
- 20 years in prison, or 35 years to life in prison! Again, this must run “consecutive” with any other DCAC charge.
A conviction will also require you to Register as a Sex Offender for the rest of your life! Additionally, you are not allowed to have any contact with anyone under the age of eighteen (18) (this includes your own children), without going through numerous testing procedures and with the consent of your probation officer.