All types of sex offenses are taken very seriously in Wisconsin. Depending on the nature of the crime, the circumstances surrounding it and the victim, an offender can face different charges that affect the resulting penalties. If a person is arrested for sexual assault, it’s important to know the different degrees of the alleged crime.
What sex offenses are considered first-degree?
Sex offenses are typically felonies. A person can be charged with a class B felony if they are convicted of the following sex offenses:
- The person has sexual intercourse with another person without their consent, and the rape causes serious bodily harm or pregnancy to the victim.
- This perpetrator uses or threatens to use a dangerous weapon to commit rape.
- At least one or more people aid a person when they rape a victim and use violence or threaten to use force.
What sex offenses are considered second-degree?
A person can be found guilty of a class C felony if they commit certain criminal offenses. These include the following:
- The person rapes or has some type of sexual contact with a victim while threatening to resort to violence.
- The person commits rape or some type of sexual contact against the victim’s consent and causes injuries or illness, including to a sexual organ or requiring psychiatric care thereafter.
- The person engages in sexual intercourse or sexual contact with a person who is mentally ill or disabled and cannot consent.
- The person has sexual intercourse or contact with a person under the influence of drugs or alcohol, making that person incapable of consenting.
- The person rapes someone who is unconscious.
- The person rapes another person while being aided by one or more other people.
- The person is an employee of a facility and has sex with a patient or resident of that facility.
- The person is a staff member of a correctional facility and has sex with an inmate.
- The person is a parole officer and has sex with a person who is their parolee.
Sometimes, the crime of sexual contact with a person without their consent may be charged as a class A misdemeanor. The penalties can be strict, so it’s important for individuals accused of this crime to develop a solid defense strategy.
