If you try to lure a child into a building or a car in Wisconsin for the purpose of molesting them, you will be charged with child enticement. If you’ve been falsely charged with such a heinous crime, avoiding conviction is the only way to protect yourself from a lifetime of severe consequences.
What Is Child Enticement?
Under Wisconsin law, child enticement is the crime of causing or attempting to cause any child under the age of 18 to go into a building, room, vehicle, or other secluded place with the intention to:
- Have sexual contact with the child
- Cause the child to commit acts of prostitution
- Expose private parts of the body or cause the child to do so
- Record the child engaging in sex acts
- Cause the child physical or mental harm
- Give drugs to the child
Child enticement is a Class D felony in Wisconsin.
Penalties for a Class D Felony
In Wisconsin, the penalties for a Class D felony include:
- A fine of up to 100,000 dollars
- Imprisonment for up to 25 years
If you’re convicted of the charge of child enticement in Wisconsin, you should expect a lengthy prison sentence. Avoiding a conviction is your best chance to avoid these consequences.
In addition, any person convicted of a sex offense in Wisconsin is required to register with the Wisconsin Sex Offender Registry. Registration will make it harder for you to find work or a place to live for however long you are on the registry.
Proving a Charge of Child Enticement
According to Wisconsin’s jury instructions for child enticement cases, the state must prove that the defendant tried to get a child to go with them into a vehicle, building, room, or secluded place to have sexual contact with the child or one of the other intentions mentioned in the statute. For instance, you can also be charged with child enticement if you intended to give the child illegal drugs.
If the state cannot prove that you had the intent to molest or otherwise harm the child, then the jury will not convict you of child enticement. Therefore, assuming that the other elements of the case are not contested, your criminal defense attorney may focus on raising reasonable doubt about your intent. For instance, the police may have assumed that you had the intention of harming a child when, in fact, your intentions were innocent.
How a Criminal Defense Attorney Can Help
If you’re facing criminal charges in Madison, Wisconsin, you need a strong ally with the determination and tenacity to defend your future. Having a conviction for child enticement on your record will make it harder for you to find work or rent an apartment, possibly for the rest of your life. You need a criminal defense attorney who will do everything possible to prevent a conviction.
Madison, Wisconsin, criminal defense attorney Christopher T. Van Wagner, S.C., has obtained over 25 acquittals and has had more than 100 cases dismissed without trial. Contact Christopher T. Van Wagner, S.C., at (608) 284-1200 immediately.
