A former El Paso County public defender has been suspended from practicing law for 90 days after taking intimate photographs and videos of a woman he was having an affair with and sending them to her husband, according to disciplinary records from the state.

Attorney Christopher Melichar was convicted of posting a private image for harassment in May 2021 and is on probation per a sentence handed down by the 4th Judicial District Court in November 2022.

While employed as an attorney at the Colorado State Public Defender’s Office in August 2020, Melichar began a sexual relationship with a woman who was married and had children, disciplinary records show. During their six-month relationship, Melichar took explicit photographs and videos of the woman, and she sent him nude photographs.

After the relationship ended, Melichar threatened to send the photographs and videos to her husband if she did not resume a sexual relationship with him, according to the disciplinary records. Melichar reportedly sent to the husband a nude photograph of her and a video of her performing a sexual act.

After the woman’s husband contacted the police in April 2021, Melichar was arrested and charged with a class-one misdemeanor. During an investigation, the woman reported that Melichar had explicit content of her that was taken without her consent, which she also accused Melichar of via text message, the disciplinary documents said.

Court records show Melichar pleaded guilty to posting a private image for harassment on May 28, 2021, and was sentenced 18 months later to two years of probation and six months of unsupervised probation.

If Melichar meets the conditions of his probation, the disciplinary suspension will go into effect May 11 and last 90 days. However, disciplinary records said if conditions of probation are not met, the suspension would last one year and one day.

According to the state Supreme Court website, Melichar is with Altitude Legal Defense Group PLLC, and a LinkedIn profile under his name shows he has been an attorney there since May 2022.