Call Van Severen Law Office at (414) 270-0202 to discuss child abuse, child neglect, or sexual assault of a child charges with one of our Wisconsin criminal defense lawyers.
Criminal charges involving children, like child abuse, child neglect, and sexual assault of a child are serious, sensitive issues. Frequently prosecutors involved in these cases seek aggressive, frequently unreasonable punishments. In other cases the media gets involved, amplifying the seriousness and the negativity surrounding your case. Finally, courts may not be friendly or understanding of the defendant’s side of the story. There’s a lot stacked up against you. We’ve been through cases like this, and we understand.
Hiring a top criminal defense lawyer, like the ones you’ll meet at Van Severen Law Office is one of the best ways an individual can work through this difficult process. Our criminal defense attorneys regularly defend charges involving children, whether they’re neglect, abuse, or sexual cases involving children. No matter the charge you’re facing, we’re here to help you. We work on cases that the media picks up. And we’re certainly familiar with cases involving difficult prosecutors and judges. We handle cases involving tough issues on a regular basis.
The criminal defense lawyers at Van Severen Law Office are specialists. We dedicate 100% of our practice to criminal defense. Frequently that yields better results for our clients. And the reason for that is simple: we know what we’re doing. Someone who does not specialize in criminal defense is less likely to be familiar with the important legal issues involved in criminal cases just like these.
Finally, contact us immediately at (414) 270-0202. Let’s start fighting your case.
Child abuse cases in Wisconsin:
Physical abuse of a child is a felony. Cases involving physical abuse break down into two further categories: Was the conduct intentional or reckless? And did that conduct cause bodily harm, great bodily harm, or bodily harm in a way that subjected the child to a risk for great bodily harm? Intentional cases are more aggravated than reckless cases. And the worse the bodily harm gets, the more aggravated the penalties become:
Secondly, intentional physical abuse of a child causing bodily harm by conduct which creates a risk of great bodily harm is a Class F felony.
Intentional physical abuse of a child causing great bodily harm is a Class H felony.
Reckless physical abuse of a child causing great bodily harm is a Class E felony.
Reckless physical abuse of a child causing bodily harm by conduct which creates a high probability of great bodily harm is guilty of a Class H felony.
Finally, reckless physical abuse of a child causing bodily harm is a Class I felony.
What about non-physical child abuse?
Anyone working with children knows that it’s easy to cause harm to a child without using actual physical actions. Emotional and mental abuse can lead to child abuse charges.
Child abuse doesn’t need to be physical. It can be mental. Mental harm, just like physical harm, still carries with it a felony penalty. Mental harm means substantial harm to a child’s psychological or intellectual functioning evidenced by characteristics of a child that could include anxiety, depression, withdrawal, or outward aggressive behavior. Causing mental harm to a child is a Class F felony.
Cases involving child neglect:
Child neglect is more passive. A child is considered neglected when the person responsible for the child’s welfare fails, for reasons other than poverty, to provide necessary care, food, clothing, medical or dental care, or shelter so as to seriously endanger the physical health of the child. Child neglect is a Class A misdemeanor (9 months jail, $10,000.00 fine) if no harm results to the child. If serious bodily harm, great bodily harm, or death are the result, child neglect is a felony.
Child neglect cases, depending on the circumstances, frequently reach media coverage. You must remember that the more sensational a case seems, the more likely it is that reporters will want to speak to you. We understand that showing up on the news isn’t comfortable for you. It’s times like these that a strong criminal defense all can help you through the difficulties you’re experiencing.
Crimes involving children are incredibly serious. Whether you’re facing child abuse, child neglect, or sexual assault of a child, contact us immediately at (414) 270-0202.
Cases involving sexual assault of a child:
First degree sexual assault of a child is the most serious crime in Wisconsin. But what about homicide? Surely killing someone is worse than sexual assault, right?
In Wisconsin, first-degree sexual assault of a child is a Class A felony. Class A felony charges carry a penalty of life in prison. (To answer our question before, first degree intentional homicide is also a Class A felony. So it’s certainly just as serious as a sex assault case.) Other crimes like repeated sexual assault of the same child also carry Class A felony penalties.
It’s even more important to hire a criminal defense specialist when defending against sexual assault charges. Depending on numerous factors, including your professional position, your relationship, and the facts in the case, your case has a decent chance it will end up in the local media. It’s crucial you not speak with the media regarding your case. The scavengers that will reach out to you will certainly only be looking for juicy bits of information to encourage more people to tune in. They’re not looking to help you. And they’re certainly not just looking for “your side” of the story.
How do we defend my criminal case?
Our comments on the media are a great place to start this conversation. Certainly we suggest you not provide any comment or information to the media. But the same goes for the police. Our criminal defense lawyers suggest that you maintain your right to silence. If there comes a point when your statement is relevant for your case, we’ll figure out the best way to present it. And finally, remember: you do not need to speak with police, no matter what they say.
Credibility of the victim is also consistently important in criminal cases involving kids. Children like to lie. And children like to say things happened that simply didn’t occur. Sometimes weeding out these lies is easy – such as in situations where the lie is physically impossible. In other situations we will need to do a little more work. Sending out our investigator to interview other witnesses, or looking into previous allegations from the same “victim” is a great place to start.
Finally, let’s make clear that all criminal cases are different. The defense in your case may not be the next in a different, very similar, case. During our initial consultation we’ll sit down and begin planning how to defend your charges.
Finally, contact Van Severen Law Office for the best criminal defense
As probably became clear to you while reading our website, criminal cases can be incredibly complex. Certainly cases involving children have the potential to be even more complex. Issues that frequently don’t pop up in criminal cases involving adults will occur in cases involving children. For example, children lie in ways that frequently don’t occur in adult criminal cases. And weeding out those lies is something that might not be clear unless you’re familiar with defending criminal cases involving children.
At Van Severen Law Office our criminal defense attorneys regularly fight cases involving children. No matter how serious the allegations are against you, we can help. We defend the most serious criminal charges in Wisconsin. And we’re specialists. We’re focused on fighting against charges just like yours.
Finally, contact Van Severen Law Office at (414) 270-0202. Let’s discuss your case. And then let’s start fighting the government together.
