{"id":977,"date":"2026-05-29T17:35:02","date_gmt":"2026-05-29T17:35:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=977"},"modified":"2026-05-29T17:35:02","modified_gmt":"2026-05-29T17:35:02","slug":"former-colorado-public-defender-sentenced-to-10-years-to-life-for-child-sex-abuse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=977","title":{"rendered":"Former Colorado public defender sentenced to 10 years to life for child sex abuse"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div><strong>Getting your Trinity Audio player ready&#8230;<\/strong><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>An El Paso County judge on Thursday sentenced a former Colorado public defender to 10 years to life in prison after a jury found him guilty in March of sex assault on a child involving a pattern of abuse, according to a news release.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=976\">Trump meeting with aides to make \u2018final determination\u2019 on moving forward with Iran deal<\/a><\/p>\n<p>The former public defender, Thomas Cushing, will also serve 20 years to life on parole for the felony, should the state parole board release him at some point after he serves 10 years. He is required to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.<\/p>\n<p>The abuse, which police said involved a 14-year-old, happened between July and November 2024.<\/p>\n<p>Prosecutors pursued the case after the victim\u2019s father \u201cwas alerted to the crimes committed\u201d and reported the case to the Colorado Springs Police Department, according to the news release. Cushing, who was 26 at the time, then turned himself in after a judge issued a warrant for his arrest.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=972\">State workers\u2019 comp insurer Pinnacol lays off 43 workers but claims \u2018extremely strong\u2019 finances<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis case centered on the minor victim and the lasting impact these events have had on their life,\u201d said Michael Allen, the district attorney for the 4th Judicial District, according to the news release. \u201cToday\u2019s sentence reflects the seriousness of the defendant\u2019s heinous crimes and sends a clear message: if you commit a crime like this in our community, you will be held accountable and you should expect to be sent to prison for a very long time.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Public defenders are lawyers appointed to represent people in court who have been accused of a crime and who cannot afford to hire their own counsel.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=970\">Judge temporarily blocks payouts from Trump\u2019s $1.8B \u2018anti-weaponization\u2019 settlement fund<\/a><\/p>\n<p><em>Sign up to get crime news sent straight to your inbox each day.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Former Colorado public defender Thomas Cushing was sentenced to 10 years to life in prison after a jury found him guilty of sex assault on a child involving a pattern of abuse.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":749,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-977","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-crime-and-public-safety","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - 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