948.025 Engaging in repeated acts of sexual assault of the same child.
(1) Whoever commits 3 or more violations under s. 948.02 (1) or (2) within a specified period of time involving the same child is guilty of:
(a) A Class A felony if at least 3 of the violations were violations of s. 948.02 (1) (am).
(b) A Class B felony if at least 3 of the violations were violations of s. 948.02 (1) (am), (b), or (c).
(c) A Class B felony if at least 3 of the violations were violations of s. 948.02 (1) (am), (b), (c), or (d).
(d) A Class B felony if at least 3 of the violations were violations of s. 948.02 (1).
(e) A Class C felony if at least 3 of the violations were violations of s. 948.02 (1) or (2).
(2)
(a) If an action under sub. (1) (a) is tried to a jury, in order to find the defendant guilty the members of the jury must unanimously agree that at least 3 violations of s. 948.02 (1) (am) occurred within the specified period of time but need not agree on which acts constitute the requisite number.
(b) If an action under sub. (1) (b) is tried to a jury, in order to find the defendant guilty the members of the jury must unanimously agree that at least 3 violations of s. 948.02 (1) (am), (b), or (c) occurred within the specified period of time but need not agree on which acts constitute the requisite number and need not agree on whether a particular violation was a violation of s. 948.02 (1) (am), (b), or (c).
(c) If an action under sub. (1) (c) is tried to a jury, in order to find the defendant guilty the members of the jury must unanimously agree that at least 3 violations of s. 948.02 (1) (am), (b), (c), or (d) occurred within the specified period of time but need not agree on which acts constitute the requisite number and need not agree on whether a particular violation was a violation of s. 948.02 (1) (am), (b), (c), or (d).
(d) If an action under sub. (1) (d) is tried to a jury, in order to find the defendant guilty the members of the jury must unanimously agree that at least 3 violations of s. 948.02 (1) occurred within the specified period of time but need not agree on which acts constitute the requisite number.
(e) If an action under sub. (1) (e) is tried to a jury, in order to find the defendant guilty the members of the jury must unanimously agree that at least 3 violations of s. 948.02 (1) or (2) occurred within the specified period of time but need not agree on which acts constitute the requisite number and need not agree on whether a particular violation was a violation of s. 948.02 (1) or (2).
(3) The state may not charge in the same action a defendant with a violation of this section and with a violation involving the same child under s. 948.02 or 948.10, unless the other violation occurred outside of the time period applicable under sub. (1). This subsection does not prohibit a conviction for an included crime under s. 939.66 when the defendant is charged with a violation of this section.
History: 1993 a. 227; 1995 a. 14; 2001 a. 109; 2005 a. 430, 437; 2007 a. 80.
This section does not violate the right to a unanimous verdict or to due process. State v. Johnson, 2001 WI 52, 243 Wis. 2d 365, 627 N.W.2d 455, 99-2968.
Convicting the defendant on 3 counts of first-degree sexual assault of a child and one count of repeated acts of sexual assault of a child when all 4 charges involved the same child and the same time period violated sub. (3). A court may reverse the conviction on the repeated acts charge under sub. (1) rather than the convictions for specific acts of sexual assault under s. 948.02 (1) when the proscription against multiple charges in sub. (3) is violated even if the repeated acts charge was filed prior to the charges for the specific actions. State v. Cooper, 2003 WI App 227, 267 Wis. 2d 886, 672 N.W.2d 118, 02-2247.
The state may bring multiple prosecutions under sub. (1) when two or more episodes involving “3 or more violations under s. 948.02 (1) or (2) within a specified period of time involving the same child" are discrete as to time and venue. State v. Nommensen, 2007 WI App 224, 305 Wis. 2d 695, 741 N.W.2d 481, 06-2727.
The respondent 15 year-old's assertion, that applying sub. (1) (e) to him violated his due process and equal protection rights, failed. While a juvenile under the age of 16 could be both a victim and an offender under sub. (1) (e), the respondent was not a victim under the facts in this case. Sub. (1) (e) prohibits a person from engaging in sexual contact with another person who has not reached the age of 16. Sexual contact occurs when intentional touching is done “either for the purpose of sexually degrading or sexually humiliating the complainant or sexually arousing or gratifying the defendant." The statute provides an objective standard that makes clear that every person who engages in sexual contact with a child under the age of 16 for the purposes described is strictly liable. State v. Colton M. 2015 WI App 94, 366 Wis. 2d 119, 875 N.W.2d 642, 14-2419.
When the state alleged that the defendant engaged in repeated sexual assaults of the same child during 2007 and 2008, and during that time period sub. (1) was repealed and recreated, the applicable law was the statute in effect when the last criminal action constituting a continuing offense occurred. Although the defendant should have been charged under the 2007-08 law, the defendant was mistakenly charged under the 2005-06 law. Nevertheless, the defendant was charged with a crime that existed at law. Class C criminal liability attached under the 2005-06 and 2007-08 laws to the same conduct as it pertained to the defendant. The wording difference was immaterial as the elements were the same. The technical charging error did not prejudice the defendant, nor did it affect the circuit court's subject matter jurisdiction. State v. Scott, 2017 WI App 40, 376 Wis. 2d 430, 899 N.W.2d 728, 16-1411.