Colorado has more flexible sex offender laws compared to some US states. With a three-tier system providing different treatment to different offender levels, a possibility for lower-level offenders to get off the registry after a number of years, and looser residency restrictions, Colorado is not the worst place to be for registered sex offenders. That said, the existing Colorado sex offender laws are still protecting the public and punishing wrongdoers. Below, we present you with a detailed look at how The Centennial State handles convicted sex offenders.
*This article is for informational purposes only and is not meant to serve as legal advice. Please consult an attorney if you need to obtain legal advice.
Colorado Sex Offender Registry Laws
The Colorado state sex offender registry collects information and notifies the public about convicted sex offenders. Sexual offender statistics unveil that Colorado has over 11,000 sex offenders on the registry. Once a sex offender has been convicted in Colorado, they must undergo a specific evaluation for risk and treatment and register for a number of years or for life depending on the crime. According to Megan’s law in Colorado, Individuals who have committed or attempted to commit the following offenses are required to register as sex offenders in Colorado:
- Sexual assault
- Unlawful sexual contact
- Incest or aggravated incest
- Enticement of a minor
- Child trafficking and sexual exploitation of children
- Indecent exposure
- Public indecency
- Child prostitution or doing anything in relation to child prostitution
- Pandering of a minor
- Unlawful sexual conduct
- Procurement of a child
- Promoting obscenity to a child or a minor
- Luring a child over the internet
- Online exploitation of a child
- Invading one’s privacy for sexual gratification
- Second-degree kidnapping.
Individuals whose serving time finished before July 1, 1991, may not have to register. The Colorado sex offender registry doesn’t show information about sex offenders convicted for misdemeanors and juveniles sentenced for sex crimes.
The Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act that came to force on July 27, 2006, divides Colorado sex offenders into three tiers, with tier 1 classified as the least dangerous offenders and tier 3 reserved for high-risk offenders.
Tier 1 offenders must register with their local law enforcement agencies annually within five days from their birthday. Tier 2 sex offenders must report twice a year. Finally, tier 3 offenders must register quarterly for life. The following high-risk offenders are required to update their information every three months:
- Sexually violent predators
- Out-of-state offenders whose convictions require quarterly sex offender registration in Colorado
- Offenders convicted for either sexual assault against a child, felony sexual assault, incest, or aggravated incest.
All Colorado registered sex offenders are obligated to register within five days of release. If the offender is released from the Department of Corrections without supervision, they must report to the local law enforcement agency the next business day. According to the Colorado sex offender legislation, offenders are also obligated to report the following changes to the local law enforcement agency within five working days:
- Address change
- Name change
- Moving in and out of Colorado
- Establishing additional residences.
According to the Campus Sex Crime Prevention Act, sex offenders working, volunteering, or enrolled in any post-secondary education institution must notify their local law enforcement agency about their presence on campus. They must report every time they start or terminate their engagement with such institutions or change location.
Despite all these efforts to monitor and track registered sex offenders, Colorado is among the top ten states with the most rapes per 100,000 people. According to rape and sexual assault statistics, Colorado has 63 cases of rape for every 100,000 residents.
Colorado sex offenders can petition for removal in the following ways:
- Class 1, 2, or 3 felonies (excluding quarterly offenses) – 20 years from the date of the final release
- Class 4, 5, or 6 felony – 10 years from the date of the final release
- Third-degree sex assault or unlawful sexual contact – 10 years from the date of the final release.
The sex offender status won’t be cleared immediately. Eligible offenders need to complete a form and notify the local law enforcement agency they register with, the prosecutor of that agency, and the prosecutor who convicted them about their request to get off the Colorado sexual offender list.
Colorado Sex Offender Notification Laws
In Colorado, community notification is mandatory only for sexually violent predators. Notifying the community is governed by the Sex Offender Management Board (SOMB), which determines the procedures and protocols for community notification. In general, the local law enforcement agencies are required to notify the community every time a violent predator is released from prison.
Colorado Sex Offender Residency Restrictions
Sexual offenders in Colorado must report any change in their location within five working days, whether it’s changing address, establishing a new residence, or becoming homeless. Sex offenders residing in trailers or motor homes must report the address where their mobile homes will be lawfully located. Depending on the committed crime, homeless offenders must register to the nearest law enforcement agency every three months or every month.
Other than these registration requirements regarding location verification, Colorado isn’t one of the 30 states with statewide residency restrictions prohibiting sex offenders from living near places commonly frequented by children unless the offender is a parolee or probationer. They must respect the SOMB guidelines, which ban sex offenders from being near schools, playgrounds, parks, and other areas where children gather. These guidelines, however, don’t specify a distance that sex offenders must respect. For sex offenders on probation or parole, the officers are in charge of approval or disapproval of the sex offender’s residence.
More specific residency restrictions, however, exist on a local level. Many cities and counties don’t allow sex offenders to live within 1,000 feet of schools, parks, daycare facilities, libraries, and other areas where children gather.
Even without specific residency restrictions, sex offenders have limited access to stable housing. They are often forced to reside in impoverished communities, which creates an unequal distribution of offenders in these low-income neighborhoods. The laws limit landlords’ use of criminal records to deny housing. Sex offenders, however, are excluded from these laws, meaning that landlords can deny their rent request when their status shows up on a tenant background check, no matter the severity of their offense.
Colorado Sex Offender Work Restrictions
Colorado sex offender laws may not constrain most offenders to take on different job roles, but formerly incarcerated people, especially sex offenders, have very limited chances of finding a stable job. Colorado registered sex offenders who are not on parole or probation can work in almost any sector they want. Their offender status, however, will show up on background checks prospective employers perform, reducing their chances of getting hired.
Finding a job while on parole or probation is even more challenging. The offender needs approval for each job from the SOMB Treatment provider. Jobs where children are present are out of the question. The treatment programs require offenders to disclose the details of their crimes to their employers and probation and parole officers to check up on the offenders at their workplace. Finding an employer willing to hire individuals with red flags on their criminal background checks and keeping up with their parole and probation requirements is extremely hard but not impossible.
Colorado Sex Offender Travel Laws
Sex offenders are allowed to visit Colorado unless their home state limits traveling to other states. Offenders who stay for more than 14 consecutive days in Colorado or more than 30 days a year are considered temporary residents. Any sex offender visiting Colorado, including temporary residents, must comply with the Colorado sex offender laws and the laws in their home state.
Can a sex offender get a passport? The answer is yes for most sex offenders, meaning they can also travel internationally. Registered sex offenders in Colorado who want to travel internationally must respect the Adam Walsh Act, which requires offenders:
- To inform their local law enforcement agency of their travel plans at least 21 days before the travel
- To provide their legal name, aliases, birth date, sex, citizenship, passport number, and country
- To provide detailed travel information, including departure and arrival dates and times, means of travel, the purpose of the trip, and all destinations, including final and intermediate stop locations, addresses, and international contact details.
Failure to Register on the Sexual Offender Registry in Colorado
Failure to register, re-register, update the information when required, or submit false or incomplete information would be a class six felony if the initial sex offense was treated as a felony. If the initial offense was a misdemeanor, then failure to register will be treated as a misdemeanor.
Colorado Sex Offender Laws FAQs
Is Colorado strict on sex offenders?
The state’s sex offender laws are similar to other states, but Colorado is not the strictest state on sex offenders. Unlike some of the toughest states, Colorado gives a chance to lower-level offenders to petition for removal if they haven’t reoffended and respected the rules in the mandatory registration period.
How long do sex offenders have to register in Colorado?
The Colorado sex offender registration laws demand high-risk offenders that have committed third-degree felonies to register for life. Sex offenders who have committed class 1, 2, or 3 felonies must register on the Colorado sex offender database for at least 20 years, while those who have committed class 4, 5, or 6 felonies have a mandatory registration period of 10 years.
Can a sex offender get off the registry in Colorado?
Colorado sex offender registry removal is possible. Everyone except high-risk offenders can petition for removal with the court after a number of years on the Colorado sex offenders registry and if they haven’t committed a new offense. Colorado residents don’t pay a filing fee, but out-of-state offenders must pay a fee of $235.
Do sex offenders have to notify neighbors in Colorado?
A sex offender in Colorado is not obligated to notify neighbors about their status. Even though Colorado sex offender laws don’t require offenders to disclose their status with the community, neighbors can find out if they search the sex offender registry in Colorado or run the offender’s name through a people finder site that stores public records.
