First degree sexual assault defense

What is first degree sexual assault?

Secondly, like all criminal charges, sexual assault charges have elements, or parts, that the government must prove beyond a reasonable doubt.

Wisconsin Criminal Jury Instruction 1201 provides one set of the jury instructions.  This offense focuses on sexual assault causing great bodily harm:

• Firstly, the defendant had sexual contact or intercourse with the victim; and
• Secondly, the victim did not consent to the sexual contact or intercourse; and
• Finally, the defendant caused great bodily harm to the victim.

Understanding a few definitions is crucial to your understanding of first degree sexual assault charges.  Wisconsin Criminal Jury Instruction 1200A defines sexual contact.  Sexual contact is the intentional touching of the victim’s intimate part by the defendant.  The touching may be directly or it may be through clothing.  Finally, the touching may be done by any body part or with any object, but must be done intentionally.  Sexual contact requires the defendant acted with the purpose to cause bodily harm to the victim, to become sexually aroused or gratified, or to sexually humiliate or degrade the victim.

Sexual intercourse means any intrusion, no matter how slight, by any part of a person’s body, or an object, into the genital or anal opening of another.  The government need not show the emission of semen.  Additionally, sexual intercourse includes oral sex.

Finally, what is consent?  Or, how do we know when the victim did not consent?  For this, the government must prove that the victim did not freely agree to have sexual contact or intercourse with the defendant.  Alternatively, the victim wasn’t competent to consent to the sex.  Juries are instructed to consider what the victim said and did, along with surrounding facts and circumstances surrounding the sexual contact/intercourse.

Sexual assault causing pregnancy

Wisconsin Criminal Jury Instruction 1201A provides us the elements of first degree sexual assault: sexual intercourse without consent causing pregnancy:

• Firstly, the defendant had sexual intercourse with the victim; and
• Secondly, the victim did not consent to the sexual intercourse; and finally
• The defendant caused the victim to become pregnant.

The previous definitions apply to all sexual assault charges.

Certainly you’re wondering how we defend sexual assault causing pregnancy cases.  But let’s remember – all cases are different.  In certain cases, the way to defend a case involving pregnancy could focus on prior sexual relations between the defendant and the victim.  It’s certainly possibly to narrow down the sexual contact to the period of a few days, and that may be enough to present a proper defense.  For example: the defendant had consensual sex with the victim on Monday.  That intercourse caused the pregnancy.  If the defendant and the victim had non-consensual sexual intercourse two days later, prosecutors certainly can’t use the pregnancy again the defendant.  Unfortunately, that doesn’t mean they won’t try.

Sexual assault while aided and abetted

The phrase aided and abetted sounds more complex than it is.  The defendant is aided and abetted if another individual knew the defendant was going to have sexual contact or intercourse without consent of the victim.  Further, the person either 1) provided assistance to the defendant or 2) was willing to assist the defendant, and the defendant knew of the assistance.  Assistance is provided by words, acts, encouragement, or support.

Wisconsin Criminal Jury Instruction 1205 provides the elements of first degree sexual assault, sexual contact or intercourse without consent by use or threat of force or violence while aided and abetted:

• Firstly, the defendant had sexual contact or intercourse with the victim; and
• Secondly, the victim did not consent to the sexual contact or intercourse; and
• Thirdly, the defendant had sexual contact or intercourse with the victim by use or threat of force or violence; and finally
• The defendant was aided and abetted by one or more other persons.

How do we defend my criminal case?

Certainly the first thing we’ll examine with your case is the credibility of the victim.  Did she cheat on her boyfriend with you, and now she’s simply looking for a story to cover what happened?  We’ve defended cases like this before, and unfortunately it happens.  Does the victim have mental, emotional, or psychological issues that caused her to complete fabricate the allegations against you?  Depending upon certain issues, we may be able to gain access to her psychological records.

Are there more substantive legal issues we can challenge?  For example, did law enforcement force a confession from you?  Or did they obtain a search warrant based upon fabricated information?  Certainly we’ll file challenges to the admission of those materials.

Finally, the most important point is that our criminal defense attorneys regularly defend very serious sexual assault and homicide cases.  We recognize that your entire life is on the line.  And we recognize that smart, aggressive criminal defense representation is the only thing that’s going to get you out of trouble.  We want to win your case.

Contact Van Severen Law Office at (414) 270-0202

Finally, give us a call.  Our criminal defense attorneys answer phone calls 24/7.  We recognize that police arrest individuals 24/7, no matter if it’s a weekend or a holiday.

To get started, call us at (414) 270-0202.  Don’t waste your hiring someone who isn’t a specialist.  At Van Severen Law Office we focus on providing defendants with representation from the best sexual assault defense lawyers in Wisconsin.