The Weld County Sheriff’s Department made 27 child abuse arrests between December 13, 2024 and January 12, with only seven of those suspects being required to pay bail. The bail postings, which were attached to misdemeanor child abuse cases, ranged from $1,000 to $5,000.
Twenty-three of the arrests were considered misdemeanor charges like negligence and physical abuse that caused minor injuries. Out of the 27 arrests, three were class four felony child abuse convictions and one was a class three felony child sexual abuse charge by a person known by the minor with a demonstrated pattern of abuse. A felony child abuse conviction, by Colorado law, requires serious injury to the child.
The four felony suspects arrested in Weld County were released with zero bail required with expectation that they appear in court, also known as a personal recognizance (PR) bond.
PR bonds have been the standard for misdemeanor charges and other low-level offenses since Colorado started implementing bail reform in 2019 with a series of bills. The bail reform measures are standard for all charges as the law requires judges to release the defendant with the “least restrictive conditions possible and without monetary conditions” — unless the defendant is considered a “substantial risk of danger to the safety of any person or the community” or is likely to be absent from scheduled court appearances.
The 2019 bail reform bill removed sexual assault crimes from the unbailable list of crimes along with possession of a weapon by a previous offender. Since the enactment of that bill, courts are allowed to place bail for child sexual abuse cases.
The Colorado Pretrial Assessment Tool (CPAT) is the standard way that courts in Colorado evaluate the level of risk a defendant poses if they are released from custody. A representative from the 19th judicial district staff will gather information and ask the defendant questions. There are 12 assessment questions to evaluate a defendant’s risk category. The staff will provide the results and any recommendations to the judicial officer, who will determine if there will be monetary conditions for release. All of the CPAT questions pertain to the likelihood the defendant will show up to court.
The purpose of bail is to ensure defendants show up to court when hearings and trials are scheduled. The Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution states that “excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.” Cornell Law School says excessive bail is an amount that is set higher than needed to achieve the purpose.
A 2013 study that evaluated 150,000 jailed individuals in Kentucky found pretrial detention increases the likelihood that defendants will not show up to court and increases the likelihood of repeat criminal offenses in the future. The study was conducted by the Arnold Foundation, an organization that focuses on criminal justice reform (now called Arnold Ventures). Advocates for criminal justice and bail reform say pretrial detention can cause defendants to lose their homes and jobs, which increases the likelihood that they will miss their court appearances.
