Fourth degree sexual assault defense - Wis. Stat. 940.225(3m)
A fourth degree sexual assault conviction carries permanent consequences. Hire a top criminal defense attorney if you’re facing any sort sex crime allegations: (414) 270-0202
Although fourth degree sexual assault is one of the most mitigated sex crime charges in Wisconsin, a conviction for this offense certainly carries serious, lifelong consequences. The stigma associated with these charges, by itself, could last a lifetime. It’s important to seriously address any allegation of this sort aggressively from the start.
A fourth degree sexual assault charge is a Class A misdemeanor. That means the maximum penalty attached to this offense is 9 months in jail, $10,000.00 in fines, or both. A fourth degree sexual assault charge does not require the defendant register as a sex offender, and on its own cannot result in a prison sentence. But while this charge is certainly a far cry from the 60 year maximum penalty of a 1st degree sexual assault charge, it’s still serious.
At Van Severen Law Office our criminal defense attorneys focus 100% of their representation on criminal charges. That means we regularly work on sexual assault charges. We’re specialists. We don’t handle non-criminal cases. And that certainly works to your benefit. To speak with one of the attorneys at Van Severen Law Office, call us at (414) 270-0202 immediately. Let’s figure out how we can help fight your case.
Except as provided in sub. (3), whoever has sexual contact with a person without the consent of that person is guilty of a Class A misdemeanor.
The “except as provided” portion of this statute references section 940.225(3) of the Wisconsin Statutes, which discusses third degree sexual assault. This is a much more serious criminal charge (Class G felony – 10 years in prison, $25,000.00 in fines) that can also rely on touching. But the touching that leads to a third degree sexual assault charge focuses on sexual contact from ejaculation or emission of feces or urine onto another person. That’s obviously more serious than what we’re dealing with here.
Fourth degree sexual assault is more basic. It’s engaging in unwanted physical behaviors, such as touching or poking, of someone else’s intimate parts. Slapping someone on the butt, grabbing a female by the breast, or grabbing male by the scrotum, so long as that action is done without consent, qualifies as 4th degree sexual assault.
What about the elements?
If you’ve been to court and watched various court proceedings, perhaps you’ve heard reference to the elements of an offense. Elements are parts of a crime. The government must prove each of the parts beyond a reasonable doubt. And importantly, if the government fails to satisfy that burden for each element, the prosecution fails.
Wisconsin Criminal Jury Instruction 1219 defines a crime called fourth degree sexual assault: sexual contact without consent. The government must prove the following elements:
Firstly, that the defendant had sexual contact with the victim, and
Secondly, that the victim did not consent to the sexual contact.
What is sexual contact? Sexual contact is an intentional touching by the defendant of an intimate part of the victim. The touching may be of the intimate part directly, or it may be through clothing. Lastly, the touching may be done by any body part or by any object, but it must be intentional.
Intimate parts includes the breast, buttock, anus, groin, scrotum, penis, vagina, or pubic mound of a human being” (Wis. Stat. sec. 939.22(19).
How do we defend fourth degree sexual assault charges?
Fourth degree sexual assault charges carry with them specific issues we regularly need to deal with.
First, did you make any kind of a statement to police? Frequently the first step law enforcement officers take, after arresting you, is to bring you into an interrogation room. There they’ll almost certainly start questioning you about the allegations lodged against you. Importantly, it’s usually our advice for you to not make any statements to law enforcement in this situation. While we’d like to believe cops are just trying to find the truth, instead they’re likely just trying to build a case against you. Admitting to conduct or confessing to a crime makes that task a whole lot easier.
If you made a statement, we’ll determine whether it hurts you. If the statement does hurt you, your case, or our ability to defend it, we’ll need to check into a few other issues. First, did police properly mirandize you? Second, even if they properly read you your rights, were you forced to waive them? And finally, did you provide a false confession? While this isn’t an exhaustive list of legal issues, it’s the start of what we’ll look at. Eliminating a confession from the evidence against you is obviously important.
Finally, are there other issues for us to challenge in court? Was there a search conducted of your home, automobile, or office? Certainly looking at the search warrants and determining whether they’re valid is an important next step.
Outside of motion practice, you always maintain your right to jury trial. If you’re not guilty, that’s always one of our final options to defend you.
Fourth degree sexual assault charges in Wisconsin are misdemeanors. Contact Van Severen Law Office to begin fighting your case. (414) 270-0202
Does fourth degree sexual assault require that I report on the sex offender registry?
The sex offender registry is a public catalog including the name, arrest charges, and convictions of individuals who’ve committed certain sex offenses in Wisconsin. This catalog is available online and is certainly accessible by members of the public. Having your name end up in the sex offender registry is an absolutely miserable conclusion to a criminal case.
Fortunately, fourth degree sexual assault convictions do not require an individual convicted of this offense to register.
Finally, why hire Van Severen Law Office to defend my criminal case?
The answer here is simple: this is all we do. And we’re good at it. While every sex crime case is different, and requires different strategies, our criminal defense attorneys have decades of experience. We spend every day fighting the government to ensure fair results for our clients. We don’t handle civil cases. Or divorce work. And we aren’t involved in any kind of commercial litigation. We dedicate literally 100% of our practice to criminal defense.
Finally, call us. Our criminal defense attorneys return phone calls 24/7. The police arrest individuals on the weekend and holidays. Prosecutors certainly draft criminal complaints on those dates, so why shouldn’t your defense attorney also be working? While we don’t have attorneys in the office overnight, we do have an answering service that allows you to connect with a human whenever you call.
Contact us at (414) 270-0202. Let’s start fighting your case.
