Colorado attorney suspended over revenge porn, attempted blackmail

A former Colorado Springs public defender will be suspended from practicing law for 90 days after he sent a sexually explicit video of a woman with whom he’d had an affair to her husband when the affair ended, according to state disciplinary records.

Attorney Christopher Melichar, 41, began the six-month affair with the married woman in August 2020, while he was working as a public defender, according to the disciplinary records. During the affair, the woman sent Melichar nude photos of herself, and he also filmed her during sexual encounters, though she later told Melichar she did not consent to the recordings because she was too intoxicated to do so.

After the affair ended, Melichar threatened to send the sexually explicit photos and videos to the woman’s husband, according to the records. At one point he texted her that she “needs to earn everything. I have videos,” according to the records. When the woman refused to continue the sexual relationship, Melichar sent sexually explicit content to her husband.

The husband alerted police in April 2021, and Melichar was arrested. He pleaded guilty to posting a private image for harassment, a misdemeanor. He was sentenced to two years of supervised probation.

Melichar did not immediately return a request for comment Monday, but his attorney, Adam Ray Yoast, said Melichar and the woman have since reconciled and are having a child together.

“We believe it’s a fair resolution under the circumstances, given that this was a first-time offense and that the victim and Mr. Melichar have made amends and are moving forward with having a child together,” Yoast said.

Melichar is now listed in state records as a private attorney employed by Altitude Legal Defense Group PLLC,  a limited liability company he formed in April 2022, according to business records kept by the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office.

Presiding Disciplinary Judge Bryon Large, who oversees professional discipline for attorneys, on Thursday approved an agreement between Melchar and the Office of Attorney Regulation Counsel that Melichar be disciplined with a one-year and one-day suspension of his law license, with all but 90 days of the suspension waived as long as he successfully completes three years of professional probation.

The 90-day suspension will begin May 11, according to the disciplinary records.

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