How Will My Future Be Affected?
Question: How Will Being Convicted Of A Sex Crime In Wisconsin Affect My Future?
Answer: If a person is convicted of some kind of sex crime, their future is going to change and it’s not going to be for the better. Sometimes, you can be convicted of a misdemeanor sex crime such as sexual contact without consent. That in Wisconsin will remain visible on the state court website for the next 20 years. And people will look at it. And they won’t say, “It’s a misdemeanor, no big deal,” or “He got probation, no big deal.” They’ll say, “He committed a sexual assault.” And they won’t tell you they know that, but when you go to apply for a job they’ll find it even though they won’t be allowed to ask you about it because it’s a misdemeanor.
When you go to apply for a coaching position or a volunteer position, they’re required to look at that and bar you. And most importantly, even though it can play no legal role in a housing decision, nonetheless when you apply to lease an apartment or buy a home, they’ll look at that and they’ll give it some thought. Leasing is harder with a conviction. If you’re convicted of a felony sexual assault, your life will change for the worse in many ways and you’re going to have to work to overcome those hurdles. First, it’s going to be on the state court website for the next 75 years.
You can’t be charged until you’re 17 in Wisconsin, so unless you’re planning to live past 93, everybody who uses the Internet will see that you’ve been convicted of a felony sexual assault until the day you die. And they’re going to hold that against you. Where? Housing applications, job applications, any kind of activity you want to engage in people are going to know it. In addition, the sheriffs in the communities where you live and the police chiefs can choose to notify people who are going to live near you when you move in.
They can even put up signs if they want to, although in Wisconsin it tends not to happen very often. The net result is whether you’re guilty or not, nobody cares. If you’re convicted of a sex offense in Wisconsin, many things about your life are going to change and you’re going to have to adjust to them if you’ve been convicted, you’ve appealed and it’s been upheld.
