Greeley Complicity Attorney
Charged with a Sex Offense for Someone Else’s Actions

Complicity is a charging theory where a person is charged for a crime for a lack of action. Call us if you need an experienced Complicity attorney.

While most criminal charges in Greeley and Weld County are the result of the accused’s actions, there is one law that results in charges for a lack of action – Complicity. A mother was recently arrested for Complicity in Sexual Assault on a Child after not reporting her 10-year-old daughter’s Sexual Assault by the mother’s boyfriend. According to the report, the daughter had disclosed to her mom that she was being molested by the boyfriend. The mother continued to allow the boyfriend to live at the house and her daughter ended up pregnant. The boyfriend was arrested for Sexual Assault on a Child and under Colorado law, the mother would be facing the same penalties for Complicity of Sexual Assault on a Child for not reporting and allegedly allowing her child to be abused.

Weld County Complicity Lawyer: Definition of Complicity in Morgan and Logan County

The Weld, Logan, and Morgan County, Colorado law definition of Complicity – C.R.S. 18-1-603 – is:

A person is legally accountable as principal for the behavior of another constituting a criminal offense if, with the intent to promote or facilitate the commission of the offense, he or she aids, abets, advises, or encourages the other person in planning or committing the offense.

Often, simply not stepping in to stop the behavior is seen as aiding or encouraging. Complicity is not a crime itself, but a theory under which a DA will justify the criminal charge, in this case Sexual Assault in a Child.

Complicity Attorney in Greeley, Erie, and Evans: Lack of Action Makes You Criminally Culpable

It can be a difficult situation to be put in when one person makes an allegation and the other vehemently denies it. When you are put in the middle like that, it can be hard to know what to do. Also, we have seen these types of charges for significant others because law enforcement often assumes that the other person should have known. We once had a mother come to us after law enforcement started questioning her and making statements about her involvement after her adopted daughters made a claim that their adoptive father was sexually assaulting them. The mother had no idea, but there was an assumption that she did and should be charged the same as her husband for doing nothing about it. But, how can you do something when you don’t know that it’s happening?

If you are facing a criminal charge under the Complicity theory, be smart, exercise your right to remain silent, and contact the best criminal defense attorneys from the O’Malley Law Office at 970-616-6009 today. Together, we can protect your future.

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