Sexual intercourse with a child age 16 or older defense attorney

What are the elements of the offense?

All crimes in Wisconsin are comprised of elements.  Elements are parts of the offense.  And, in order for the government to satisfy its burden and prove the case against a defendant, they must show all the elements occurred.  Wisconsin Criminal Jury Instruction 2138 provides the elements of the offense:

• Firstly, the defendant had intercourse with the victim; and
• Secondly, the victim had not attained the age of 18 years at the time of the alleged sexual intercourse; and
• Thirdly, the defendant had attained the age of 19 years at the time of the alleged sexual intercourse; and
• Finally, the victim was not the defendant’s spouse at the time of the alleged sexual intercourse.

The elements certainly reveal some interesting issues involving sexual intercourse with a child age 16 or older charges.  Firstly, this charge doesn’t focus on sexual contact.  Sexual contact refers to intentional touching, rather than intercourse.  So if there’s simply touching, there’s not enough for charges to proceed.  Secondly, the charge focuses on defendants 19 years and older.  Importantly, if you’re 18 years old and have sexual intercourse with an individual over the age of 16, this charge doesn’t apply.

How can we win your sexual intercourse with a child age 16 or older case?

So consent isn’t an issue.  The government doesn’t need to show you knew the victim was under 18.  And finally, mistake of the victim’s age doesn’t matter.  Yes, that’s the case even if he or she showed you an identification indicating he or she was over 18.  But does that mean you don’t have any defense to the charge against you? No.  Of course not.  And hiring a top criminal defense lawyer will help present that defense.

First, is the victim lying about something else?  Perhaps sexual intercourse never occurred, and you’ve been wrapped into some bizarre web of the victim lying to hear teachers and parents to cover herself.  While that sounds scary, situations like that regularly occur.  More frequently we see it in situations involving one spouse cheating on the other.  The cheater needs a way to cover up her acts, so she points her finger at the defendant.

Second, what about the police investigation? Did they force you to do or say things that weren’t true?  And importantly, did they properly read you your Miranda rights?  All of those things will certainly having an impact on your case.  And that’s especially the situation if your confessed to the offense.

Our criminal defense attorneys believe that when you’re facing sexual intercourse with a child age 16 or older charges, it’s important to hire a skilled criminal lawyer.  Not everyone wins cases.  Our criminal defense attorneys have won trials.  We want to win yours.

So consent really doesn’t matter?

Well, consent kind of matters.  If you have sexual intercourse or contact with an individual without his or her consent, you’ll likely be facing second or third degree sexual assault charges.  Or, if the victim is a child, first or second degree sexual assault of a child charges.  So consent does matter in that context.

But consent does not matter in the sense that the victim cannot allow you to have sex with him or her.  She doesn’t have the power to do so.  Minors cannot consent to sex.  That’s where terms like “statutory rape” come from, and that’s exactly what they mean.  It’s only sexual assault or rape because a statute indicates it’s so – not because the defendant acted without consent.  Importantly, the jury instructions note “Consent to sexual intercourse is not a defense” and then directs the reader to a footnote indicating “‘Without consent’ is not an element of this offense, and the Committee concluded that it may be helpful to advise the jury of that fact.”

Van Severen Law Office defends sexual assault charges.  Contact us.

Sexual intercourse with a child age 16 or older is certainly a serious criminal charge.  Although the offense is indeed a mitigated Class A misdemeanor, it’s a serious charge.  First, it could send you to jail for 9 months.  Secondly, it could require you pay fines of up to $10,000.00.  And finally, do you really want a sexual assault conviction on your record?  A conviction of that nature on your record will impact the rest of your life.

Secondly, the criminal defense attorneys at Van Severen Law Office defend all varieties of criminal offenses.  We’ve defended sexual assault charges.  We’ve certainly defended cases involving children.  And finally, we’ve defended sexual intercourse with a child age 16 or older charges.

Finally, contact one of our criminal defense attorneys at (414) 270-0202.  We return phone calls at night, on the weekends, and on holidays.  Frequently it’s crucial to your defense to get started sooner rather than later.