A Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin man wrongly accused
of felony sexual assault was found not guilty on all counts. Accused of
sexual assault of a child and repeated sexual assault of the same child,
he faced a very long prison term, registry as a sex offender, and lifetime
supervision. Attorney Chris Van Wagner helped the jury move beyond the
emotion to view the facts of the case.
van wagner & wood, criminal defense attorneys
sex crime defense lawyers
In a recent interview, legal analyst and criminal defense lawyer, Attorney Christopher (Chris) Van Wagner said, "Accusations of sexual contact and assault are one of the easiest accusations to make of all Wisconsin crimes, but sex crime charges are the worse possible type of accusation. Even when we successfully overcome a false accusation, the jury or judge's not guilty verdict often fails to overcome the social stigma".
Attorney Tracey Wood added, "Often times, there is so much more that we could have done if only we had been brought into the case earlier."
When asked how early a person should bring a criminal defense attorney into the case, Attorney Wood said, "As soon as a person knows that they are under investigation."
Wisconsin Sex Crime Accusations & criminal Charges
Contact Us
Any charge involving sex crimes, whether it is a date rape claim or a sexual assault accusation, is a serious one, with possible
long-term life-altering consequences, including the possibility of jail,
prison, fines, restitution and strict "sex offender probation" and lifetime
supervision with severe restrictions on employment, residence, and lifestyle.
Sexual assault charges also bring notable social stigma, embarrassment
and humiliation. A Wisconsin Circuit Court may order that a person convicted of a sex crime
register as a sex offender for another fifteen years following the end
of a jail or probation sentence. The ongoing effects of a sex charge can
be devastating to one's family, career, and financial security.
Communication Notification Law - Sex Offender Registry
When Wisconsin enacted the Sex Offender Registration and
Community Notification Law in 1997, all people convicted of certain sex
crimes were required to register with authorities. The Sex Offender Registration is operated by the Wisconsin Department of Corrections and,
like the Wisconsin Circuit Court Access System (C-CAP), is open to the
general public, the police authorities and potential employers. Most sex
crimes are felony offenses, although some sex crimes
are misdemeanors. Regardless of the level of offense, any allegation or
investigation for any sexual assault or sex-related crime is reviewed
and prosecuted by the District Attorney.
Preventing Charges
However, and perhaps often overlooked by many defense counselors,
is the little known fact that the investigation findings of a sexual assault
or sex crime case are not written in stone, and a prosecuting attorney
will review evidence properly presented and zealously defended by a criminal
defense attorney who presents sound logical and intelligent argument.
That type of information is helpful to the accused person's case and in
some situations can cause the prosecuting attorney to drop the case before
charges are filed, drop charges after filed but before tried. Prosecuting
attorneys are willing to look at this evidence due to the inherent difficulties
of providing sexual assault allegations beyond a reasonable doubt where
there are no witnesses other than the complaining witness and the accused
person.
If you have been accused of a sex crime, if you are under
investigation for a sex crime, or if you have been arrested, the best
time to contact the attorneys at Van Wagner & Wood is now. The mere filing
of sexual assault charges of any type can cause tremendous damage to a
person's reputation, as well as their financial security and future career
opportunities, even if those charges never result in a conviction.
Wisconsin Laws Governing Sexual Assault & Other Sex Crimes
Wisconsin statutory law includes several sex crimes, most
of which are listed below. You can click on the links below to read more
information about that particular crime and the state's burden of proof.
Adultery - sex with another person not your spouse.
Bigamy - marriage or cohabitation with a person who is married to another or marriage to more than one person.
Child Pornography - possession of photographs, videos or other material of a person who is knowingly under the age of 18 years.
Child Sexual Abuse - any contact of a sexual nature with a person under the age of 18 years.
When a person is accused of
a sex crime, everything about the situation seems bleak and hopeless,
and the walls feel like they are closing in around you. They are not,
but by placing your case in the hands of the attorneys
at Van Wagner & Wood, you can step back and leave the hard work to
them. Although there are no guarantees, at least you will know that you
have the good, solid, competent, experienced, well-regarded and highly
respected help of Van Wagner & Wood.
Today, many attorneys will tell you that there is a high
degree of social stigma involved in any sexual assault charge. The attorneys
at Van Wagner & Wood truly care about your life before, during and
after the accusation, the charges, and the acquittal. VWW attorneys have
tried numerous sexual assault cases to verdict winning outright acquittals
when other attorneys thought the case was impossible to win. On this site,
you will see many references to cases that the attorneys at Van Wagner
& Wood have represented. Those references are by permission of the
person acquitted of a sex crime (in many cases, the charges were for sexual
assault or sexual assault of a child) not because the firm uses them to
market the firm, but because these people want the vindication that comes
through their name appearing with the affirmations by a court, former
federal prosecutor, state prosecutor, and well known criminal defense attorneys
where people can read it and see that they were truly acquitted on all
charges.
Contact Van Wagner & Wood
If you are under investigation for a crime or drunk driving offense,
if you have already been charged with a crime or drunk driving violation, or
if you have already been convicted but believe your conviction or your sentence
were wrong, call (608-284-1200 locally in Madison, Wisconsin, 1-866-262-4599
through Wisconsin) or e-mail () the attorneys at Van Wagner & Wood right away. They will give you a brief
but professional “first-impression” analysis of your case and your
situation, which will allow you to take an important first step in defending
the case against you. You can also submit information about a criminal
offense investigation or charge or a drunk
driving OWI investigation or charge for a free case review.
Van Wagner & Wood's criminal law defense lawyers frequently appear in Wisconsin Circuit Courts in Madison, Wisconsin for Dane County; Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin for Chippewa County Circuit Court; Menomonie, Wisconsin for Dunn County Circuit Court; Eau Claire, Wisconsin for Eau Claire Circuit Court; Lancaster, Wisconsin for Grant County Circuit Court; Monroe, Wisconsin for Green County Circuit Court; Mauston, Wisconsin for Juneau County Circuit Court; La Crosse, Wisconsin for LaCrosse County Circuit Court; Wausau, Wisconsin for Marathon County Circuit Court; Sparta, Wisconsin for Monroe County Circuit Court; Stevens Point, Wisconsin for Portage County Circuit Court; Janesville, Wisconsin at Rock County Circuit Court; Baraboo, Wisconsin at Sauk County Circuit Court; Wisconsin Dells at Columbia County Circuit Court; Wisconsin Rapids at Wood County Circuit Court; Waukesha, Wisconsin at Waukesha County Circuit Court; Elkhorn, Wisconsin at Walworth County Circuit Court. They also appear at Oneida Circuit Court in Rhinelander, Wisconsin; Langlade Circuit Court at Antigo, Wisconsin.
If your case is in another area of Wisconsin, please contact an attorney at Van Wagner & Wood to discuss it.
Appeals & Serious Crimes - Homicide - Murder - State -
Federal
Van Wagner & Wood's criminal defense attorneys represent
people in state criminal appeals cases throughout Wisconsin and federal crimial
appeals cases nationwide at both intermediary court (Court of Appeals or Appellate
Court) and the Supreme Court level. Van Wagner & Wood is one of few firms
in Wisconsin that can and will handle Federal appeals.
Van Wagner & Wood also represents people in post conviction
motions and post conviction relief remedies.
