Sex Offender Registration Criminal Defense Lawyer in Wisconsin

Wisconsin Sex Offender Registration - Criminal Defense Lawyer in Wisconsin

Registering as a sex offender in Wisconsin is often humiliating. Similarly, requirements to register as a sex offender can follow someone for the rest of their lives. The stigma from registration may persist, even after you have “paid your debt to society.” However, in certain circumstances, a possibility exists to avoid the sex offender registry by petitioning the court.  Therefore, you should ask a knowledgeable criminal defense lawyer in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, how to avoid the sex offender registry! Indeed, if you qualify to avoid sex offender registration, your motion’s presentation is a critical step towards protecting your future. In particular, as Milwaukee Criminal Defense Lawyers familiar with sex offender registration and this application process, we can assist you.

How long do you have to stay on the Wisconsin sex offender registry and how often must I register?

The judge sets the particular amount of time you must stay on a sex offender registry. For example, the judge may require you to register for an amount of time specified by the court, fifteen years, or the rest of your life. Whether your sex offense conviction originated in Wisconsin or another state, expect an annual registration requirement. However, people subject to lifetime registration must register every 90 days. Your experienced sex offender registration criminal defense lawyer in Wisconsin will work to limit your registration requirements.

What information do I have to provide as a registered sex offender in Wisconsin?

For those on the Wisconsin sex offender registry, the state maintains a significant amount of your data in their registry. For example, the state may keep the following information:

  • 1) your name and any aliases;
  • 2) your identifying information such as your date of birth, gender, race, height, weight, and hair and eye color;
  • 3) which sex offense you committed that subjects you to the reporting requirements;
  • 4) the date of your conviction, adjudication or commitment;
  • 5) the county or state of your conviction, adjudication or commitment;
  • 6) the date you received placed on probation, supervision, conditional release, conditional transfer or supervised release;
  • 7) the date on which you were or will be released from confinement, whether on parole, extended supervision or otherwise, or discharged or terminated from a sentence or commitment;
  • 8) the date you entered the state;
  • 9) the date you were ordered to comply with this section;
  • 10) the address at which you are or will be residing;
  • 11) the name of the agency supervising you, if applicable, and the office or unit and telephone number of the office or unit that is responsible for your supervision;
  • 12) the name or number of every electronic mail account you use, the Internet address of every Web site you create or maintain, every Internet user name you use, and the name and Internet address of every public or private Internet profile you create, use, or maintain;
  • 13) the name and address of the place at which you are or will be employed;
  • 14) the name and location of any school in you are or will be enrolled;
  • 15) and for some people, a notation concerning the treatment that you have received for certain mental disorders. 
When do I have to report changes to my sex offender registration?

Specifically, when any of the listed information changes, you must report the change within ten days.

Who has access to information that I am a registered sex offender in Wisconsin

In Wisconsin, the general public has access to much information about registered sex offenders. For example, the Department of Corrections maintains your information. Websites designed to educate the community about inclusion in the sex offender registry also provide access to your information.

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Wisconsin Sex Offender Registration

Wisconsin law specifically defines who must register as a sex offender, and the exceptions to the registration requirement.

To whom does sex offender registration apply?

In general, sex offender registration applies to anyone who is convicted or adjudicated delinquent; sentenced to prison, juvenile corrections, residential treatment, probation, extended supervision, parole, aftercare supervision; found not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect; is in institutional care, conditional transfer or conditional release, is on lifetime supervision for a sex offense in Wisconsin or a comparable sex offense from another jurisdiction; and anyone ordered by a judge to comply after a finding that the person was a child in need of protection or services, for a sex offense.  

Wisconsin Statute § 301.45(1g).
To what offenses does sex offender registration apply?

Sex offenses subject to registration include convictions for a violation, or the solicitation, conspiracy, or attempt to commit a violation, of any of the following:  

  • 1st, 2nd or 3rd degree sexual assault;  
  • human trafficking if the purpose of the trafficking was for a commercial sex act;  
  • sexual exploitation by a therapist;  
  • incest;
  • possession of child pornography;  
  • 1st or 2nd degree sexual assault of a child;  
  • repeated acts of sexual assault with a child;  
  • sexual assault of a child in substitute care, or by school staff personnel, someone who works or volunteers with children;  
  • sexual exploitation of a child;  
  • trafficking of a child;  
  • causing a child to view or listen to sexual activity;  
  • incest with a child;  
  • child enticement;  
  • use of a computer to facilitate a child sex crime;  
  • soliciting a child for prostitution;  
  • exposing a child to harmful materials, or harmful descriptions or narrations;  
  • child sex offender working with children;  
  • abduction of another’s child;  
  • false imprisonment or kidnapping if the victim was a minor and the person who committed the offense was not the victim’s parent.
What are the exceptions to the requirement to register as a sex offender?  
Underage sexual activity.

An exception to the registration requirement may exist if all of the following apply:

  • The person committed a violation and is
    • convicted or adjudicated delinquent for a sex offense;
    • in prison, a juvenile correctional facility, or a secured residential care center for children and youth or is on probation, extended supervision, parole, supervision, or aftercare supervision for a sex offense or for a violation, or for the solicitation, conspiracy, or attempt to commit a violation, of a law of this state that is comparable to a sex offense;
    • found not guilty or not responsible by reason of mental disease or defect for a sex offense; in institutional care or on conditional transfer, or conditional release for a sex offense or for a violation, or for the solicitation, conspiracy or attempt to commit a violation, of a law of this state that is comparable to a sex offense;
    • based on any violation, or on the solicitation, conspiracy or attempt to commit any violation, of:
      • 1st or 2nd Degree Sexual Assault of a Child, or 
      • Repeated Acts of Sexual Assault of the Same Child, or
      • Sexual Assault of a Child Placed in Substitute Care by a Person who works or volunteers at the facility.
  • The above violation, or the solicitation, conspiracy or attempt to commit the above violation did not involve sexual intercourse either by the use or threat of force or violence or with a victim under the age of 12 years.
  • At the time of the above violation, or of the solicitation, conspiracy or attempt to commit the above violation the person had not attained the age of 19 years and was not more than 4 years older or not more than 4 years younger than the child.
  • It is not necessary, in the interest of public protection, to require the person to comply with the reporting requirements under this section.
Alternative exceptions

Alternatively, another exception to sex offender registration exists if: the registration requirement resulted solely from the following. Specifically, an order entered:

  • adjudging a juvenile delinquent to be subject to sex offender reporting for certain offenses and the delinquency adjudication or conviction is expunged.
  • committing someone involuntarily for treatment under s. 51.20 (13) (ct) 1m., or adjudging a juvenile found in need of protection or services or delinquent to be subject to sex offender reporting for certain offenses, or adjudging someone not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect for a violation of certain offenses, or has been ordered to report as a sex offender based on a violation of certain offenses in connection with a violation, or the solicitation, conspiracy, or attempt to commit a violation, of Wisconsin Statutes § 942.09, if:
    • The court provided in the order that the person’s requirement to comply with the reporting requirements under this section will cease upon satisfying the conditions of specific court orders, or upon the termination or expiration of a commitment order, or upon successful completion of the sentence or probation, and
    • The person satisfies the conditions of the court order or the dispositional order, or the commitment order terminates or expires, or the person successfully completes the sentence or probation.  
What are the penalties for failure to comply with sex offender registration requirements?

Whoever knowingly fails to comply with any requirement to provide certain information is subject to the below penalties. Similarly, anyone who intentionally violates a restriction on certain registrants establishing or changing residence is also subject to the penalties.
1. Except as provided below, the person is guilty of a Class H felony.
2. The person may be convicted of a Class A Misdemeanor if all of the following apply. Specifically, if the person was:

  1. ordered to comply with the reporting requirements under this section based on a finding that he or she committed or solicited, conspired, or attempted to commit a misdemeanor.
  2. not convicted of knowingly failing to comply with any requirement to provide information before committing the present violation.

Finally, for more information about a Milwaukee sex crime lawyer or any Milwaukee law firm services, please contact us! Specifically, we have criminal defense lawyer in Wisconsin are ready to help you. Also, click here for links to Wisconsin courts, jail inmate locators, and other criminal law resources.