SB 15: Commercial Sexual Activity with a Child Offenses - Colorado

Rerevised → Final Act · 7 edits · May 21, 2026

MODERATE

This bill updates Colorado laws regarding crimes involving children and commercial sexual activity. It modernizes terminology to replace 'prostitution' with 'commercial sexual activity,' clarifies definitions to include specific sexual acts, and mandates stricter sentencing guidelines, including mandatory prison time for certain offenses.

Scope change

The scope broadens the definition of prohibited sexual acts and applies stricter mandatory sentencing rules to a wider range of offenses involving children.

DEFINITION

Replaced the term 'prostitution' with 'commercial sexual activity' throughout the statute to modernize language and clarify the scope of prohibited conduct.

Expanded the definition of 'sexual activity' to explicitly include sexual exploitation of a child and obscene performances.

REQUIREMENT

Added mandatory sentencing requirements requiring courts to sentence offenders to the Department of Corrections for a minimum of the class 3 felony range.

Mandated that if a court grants probation, the offender must serve 364 days in county jail without eligibility for sentence deductions.

Removed judicial discretion to use sentencing alternatives for offenders convicted of soliciting for commercial sexual activity with a child.

Required courts to consider whether the adult defendant is a current victim of human trafficking or has experienced coercion, force, fraud, abuse, or exploitation.

ENFORCEMENT

Increased the severity of penalties for pandering and procurement of a child when the act involves commercial sexual activity, mandating specific minimum prison terms.

Revised → Rerevised · 3 edits · May 11, 2026

MINOR

The bill was re-revised to incorporate additional amendments adopted by the House. The most significant substantive change is the removal of specific language defining the crime of 'soliciting for child prostitution' and its associated sentencing provisions. This deletion appears to be a formatting or structural adjustment within the text, as the core subject matter of the bill remains intact.

Scope change

The bill's scope regarding the definition and penalties for soliciting commercial sexual activity with a child has been altered by the removal of specific statutory text, though the overall intent of the legislation remains focused on this issue.

DEFINITION

Deleted specific text defining the crime of soliciting for child prostitution and the corresponding sentencing guidelines.

TECHNICAL

Added a 'REREVISED' header and updated the amendment date to May 11, 2026, reflecting the latest House amendments.

ELIGIBILITY

Added multiple new sponsors to the House sponsorship list, expanding the coalition of legislators supporting the bill.

Reengrossed → Revised · 4 edits · May 9, 2026

MODERATE

The bill was revised to add a legislative declaration emphasizing the severity of crimes against children and encouraging stricter sentencing. The substantive legal definitions and sentencing rules were restored to their original text, reversing a previous version that had inserted confusing and repetitive language into the statute.

REQUIREMENT

Added a legislative declaration encouraging courts to impose minimum prison sentences and consider human trafficking coercion when sentencing adults who solicit children for commercial sexual activity.

TECHNICAL

Removed confusing, repetitive, and grammatically incorrect text that had been inserted into the definitions and sentencing sections.

DEFINITION

Restored the standard legal definitions for 'child', 'commercial sexual activity', and 'sexual activity' by removing the erroneous text that had altered their meaning.

ENFORCEMENT

Restored the original sentencing provisions for soliciting child prostitution, removing the confusing text that had previously altered the mandatory prison term and probation conditions.

Engrossed → Reengrossed · 3 edits · Apr 20, 2026

MINOR

The bill was reengrossed to include additional sponsors and updated the official title to reflect all amendments. The most significant substantive change is the replacement of the term 'prostitution' with 'engage in commercial sexual activity' within the definition of pandering a child, aligning the language with modern terminology. Additionally, the bill summary was updated to indicate that a new summary for the reengrossed version will be available after the third reading.

Scope change

The scope of the bill's definition of child pandering was broadened by updating the prohibited conduct terminology from 'prostitution' to 'engage in commercial sexual activity'.

DEFINITION

Replaced the term 'prostitution' with 'engage in commercial sexual activity' in the legal definition of pandering a child to update statutory language.

TECHNICAL

Added several new co-sponsors to the Senate sponsorship list.

Updated the document header and bill summary notes to reflect the 'Reengrossed' status and the date the new summary will be available.

Introduced → Engrossed · 4 edits · Apr 17, 2026

MODERATE

The bill updates legal definitions to replace the term 'child prostitution' with 'commercial sexual activity' throughout the statute. It also reorganizes the sentencing guidelines for soliciting and pandering, adding specific mandatory jail time and restrictions on sentence reductions for certain offenders.

DEFINITION

The definition of 'commercial sexual activity' was expanded to explicitly include 'sexual exploitation of a child' and 'obscene performance' as forms of sexual activity.

The definition of 'sexual activity' was restructured to list specific acts (contact, intrusion, penetration, exploitation, obscene performance) rather than a single paragraph.

REQUIREMENT

Sentencing for soliciting a child for commercial sexual activity was clarified to mandate a minimum prison term and prohibit sentence reductions for specific offenses.

Sentencing for pandering a child was updated to include a mandatory 164-day jail term if probation is granted, with restrictions on earning time credit.

Commercial Sexual Activity with a Child Offenses

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