Physical abuse of a child is a serious criminal allegation. Contact Van Severen Law Office at (414) 270-0202 for help.
Physical abuse of a child charges in Wisconsin are serious, and an individual facing these allegations has a lot to lose. All physical abuse of a child charges are felonies, with the most serious being a Class C felony. Importantly, a Class C felony penalty includes up to 40 years in prison, $100,000.00 in fines, or both. That 40 year penalty breaks down into a maximum term of initial confinement of 25 years, followed by a maximum term of extended supervision of 15 years. No mandatory minimum penalty applies to this charge, and the penalties mentioned are simply the maximums.
Generally speaking, physical abuse of a child charges break down into three separate parts – intentional conduct, reckless conduct, or failing to act to prevent bodily harm. Intentional acts generally mean that the defendant’s mental purpose was to cause a specific result. Reckless conduct relies on a little less – generally that the defendant created a situation that led to the physical harm to the child. And failure to act child abuse charges are when school counselors, teachers, and other mandatory reporters fail to do so. Frequently, parents who observe their partner engaged in physical abuse are also charged under this section.
Contact Van Severen Law Office, S.C. immediately at (414) 270-0202 to connect with any of our criminal defense attorneys and to start discussing your case. We’ve represented thousands of individuals facing criminal charges throughout Wisconsin, and a fair number of those cases involving child abuse. We recognize that this may be your first criminal charge, and that you’re unfamiliar with the criminal justice system. We offer free initial consultations to potential clients, during which you’ll have the opportunity to sit down with our criminal defense lawyers and discuss your case.
What is intentional child abuse? Wis. Stat. 948.03(2)
Section 948.03(2) of the Wisconsin Statutes deals with intentional child abuse. It says:
(a) Whoever intentionally causes great bodily harm to a child is guilty of a Class C felony.
(b) Whoever intentionally causes bodily harm to a child is guilty of a Class H felony.
(c) Whoever intentionally causes bodily harm to a child by conduct which creates a high
probability of great bodily harm is guilty of a Class F Felony.
Here are a few important definitions included in this statute:
- Intentionally requires that the defendant had the mental purpose to cause great bodily harm to the victim, or was aware that his conduct was practically certain to cause that result.
- Bodily harm means physical pain, injury, illness or impairment of physical condition.
- Great bodily harm means injury which creates a substantial risk of death, or which causes serious permanent disfigurement, or which causes a permanent or protracted loss or impairment of the function of any bodily member or organ or other serious bodily injury.
Let’s consider an example of this crime: Defendant intends to discipline his girlfriend’s child. He decides he is going to hit the child, and does so. The child experiences pain, but no bruises, marks, or cuts appear on her body. This satisfies the requirement that the defendant “intentionally causes bodily harm to a child” and could result in Class H felony charges. While this is certainly a very minor version of this offense, certain prosecutors could still charge you for this crime.
What is reckless child abuse? Wis. Stat. 948.03(3)
Section 948.03(3) of the Wisconsin Statutes deals with reckless child abuse. It advises that:
(a) Whoever recklessly causes great bodily harm to a child is guilty of a Class E felony.
(b) Whoever recklessly causes bodily harm to a child is guilty of a Class I felony.
(c) Whoever recklessly causes bodily harm to a child by conduct which creates a high probability of great bodily harm is guilty of a Class H felony.
“Recklessly” requires that the defendant’s conduct created a situation with unreasonable risk of harm to the child, and demonstrated a conscious disregard for the safety of the child.
Importantly, recklessly causing bodily harm to a child carries the lowest penalty of all child abuse charges and is a Class I felony. A Class I felony carries with it a maximum penalty of 3.5 years prison, $10,000.00 in fines, or both. While this is the lowest level felony penalty in Wisconsin, it is still a felony, and therefore could result in a sentence including time in prison. That’s certainly not a guaranteed result, (frankly, it’s a rare result) but it’s possible. This is one of the main reasons we encourage defendants to hire experienced, competent criminal defense counsel when facing any kind of criminal charges.
What’s an example of reckless child abuse in Wisconsin? Defendant leaves a firearm, loaded and unlocked, in his bedside table. He knows his children are aware of the firearm. While the defendant is at work, a child grabs his firearm and accidentally shoots his foot off. This is great bodily harm, and will likely subject the defendant to charges for recklessly causing great bodily harm to a child.
What about child abuse based upon a failure to act?
Finally, failing to act to prevent bodily harm provides the third way physical abuse of a child can be proven. Section 948.03(4) says:
(a) A person responsible for the child’s welfare is guilty of a Class F felony if that person has knowledge that another person intends to cause, is causing or has intentionally or recklessly caused great bodily harm to the child and is physically and emotionally capable of taking action which will prevent the bodily harm from occurring or being repeated, fails to take that action and the failure to act exposes the child to an unreasonable risk of great bodily harm by the other person or facilitates the great bodily harm to the child that is caused by the other person.
(b) A person responsible for the child’s welfare is guilty of a Class H felony if that person has knowledge that another person intends to cause, is causing or has intentionally or recklessly caused bodily harm to the child and is physically and emotionally capable of taking action which will prevent the bodily harm from occurring or being repeated, fails to take that action and the failure to act exposes the child to an unreasonable risk of bodily harm by the other person or facilitates the bodily harm to the child that is caused by the other person.
Let’s consider an easy example, and one that commonly results in criminal charges: father observes mother abusing their children and does nothing about it. Importantly, he also doesn’t do anything to help her. Both parents qualify as individuals responsible for the child’s welfare. Assuming this abuse results in pain and bruises, it qualifies as “bodily harm.” Failing to report the abuse, or stop the abuse could result in criminal charges against the father for failure to act.
How can we win my child abuse case?
Children often have credibility issues. Sometimes they’re lying. Other times they might not remember exactly what happened. Our criminal defense lawyers have worked on other cases where the child intentionally lied to put a step-parent in jail. Thorough investigation usually weeds out these issues and allows us to prepare a solid defense to your case. In other cases, law enforcement may have acted improperly. No matter the issue, we will dig it out and prepare your defense.
Not all criminal defense firms provide physical abuse of a child defense. Van Severen Law Office does. We focus on providing our clients the best criminal defense in Wisconsin. Our client testimonials discuss the positive results that we’ve achieved for clients facing charges just like yours.
Van Severen Law Office provides physical abuse of a child defense
Child abuse cases are an example of serious criminal charges that we think need to be handled very carefully. Making a child cry in front of a jury isn’t going to do you any favors. But obviously we still need to attack false allegations aggressively. Drawing the line between these two extremes is important, and not all criminal defense lawyers are equipped to handle this task. At Van Severen Law Office, S.C., we are. We’re 100% dedicated to defending individuals accused of committing crimes throughout Wisconsin, and we’re good at it.
While legal services cost money, we operate in a transparent manner and do everything we can to foster the trust between our criminal defense lawyers and our clients. That’s one of the reasons we offer free initial consultations to potential clients. Let’s sit down, talk about your case, we’ll answer any initial questions, and let’s start planning a defense for your case. Contact us at (414) 270-0202 to get started.
