1st Degree Sexual Assault in Wisconsin: Charges, Penalties, and Registration

First-degree sexual assault in Wisconsin is a Class B felony under Wis. Stat. § 940.225(1), punishable by up to 60 years in prison. The charge applies only when nonconsensual sexual contact or intercourse is accompanied by one of three aggravating circumstances: use or threat of a dangerous weapon, infliction of great bodily harm or pregnancy, or a group assault carried out with force or threat of force.¹ Without one of those factors, the same underlying conduct is charged as second-, third-, or fourth-degree sexual assault instead.

The Three Ways a Case Becomes First Degree

Every first-degree charge starts with the same base element: sexual contact or sexual intercourse without consent. On top of that, prosecutors must prove at least one of the following under § 940.225(1):¹

Pregnancy or great bodily harm resulting from the act.
Use or threat of a dangerous weapon, or an object fashioned to make the victim reasonably believe it is one.
The offender is aided or abetted by one or more other people and uses or threatens force or violence. Both parts must be present. Accomplices alone do not satisfy the statute without the accompanying force or threat.

Only one aggravator is needed. If the facts fit any of the three, the state can charge in the first degree.

How the Statute Defines Its Key Terms

Convictions often turn on definitions, because the words in the statute mean something more specific than everyday usage.

Consent

Consent means words or overt actions by a competent person indicating freely given agreement to the specific sexual activity.² Two groups are presumed unable to consent, though the presumption can be rebutted with competent evidence: people whose mental illness or defect impairs their capacity to evaluate their own conduct, and people who are unconscious or physically unable to communicate disagreement. The statute does not require the victim to have physically resisted. The legal question is whether affirmative words or actions showed agreement.

Sexual Contact and Sexual Intercourse

Both can support a first-degree charge. Sexual contact covers intentional touching of intimate parts, through clothing or directly, when done to sexually degrade or humiliate the victim or to sexually arouse or gratify the offender.³ It reaches touching with any body part or object, and certain acts involving bodily fluids done for those same purposes.

Great Bodily Harm

Great bodily harm means an injury that creates a substantial risk of death, causes serious permanent disfigurement, or results in permanent or drawn-out loss or impairment of a bodily function.⁴ Broken bones, internal organ damage, and injuries requiring surgery typically qualify. Bruises or cuts that heal without lasting effect typically do not.

Dangerous Weapon

The definition is broader than most people assume. It includes any firearm whether loaded or not, any device designed as a weapon capable of producing death or great bodily harm, any ligature or object used on the throat or face to restrict breathing or blood flow, any electric weapon, and any other object that, in the way it is used or intended to be used, is likely to cause death or great bodily harm.⁴ A kitchen knife, a baseball bat, or a belt used as a ligature can all qualify depending on how it was used.

Prison Time and How Sentences Are Structured

First-degree sexual assault is a Class B felony, the second-highest felony classification in Wisconsin, with a maximum of 60 years of imprisonment.⁵ There is no statutory fine. The entire penalty runs on incarceration and post-release supervision.

Wisconsin uses bifurcated sentencing. Every prison sentence has two parts: initial confinement followed by extended supervision. For a Class B felony, confinement cannot exceed 40 years and extended supervision cannot exceed 20 years.⁶ The extended supervision portion must also equal at least 25 percent of the confinement term. A 20-year confinement sentence therefore carries at least five years of extended supervision.

During extended supervision, the person lives outside prison but under strict conditions set by the court and the Department of Corrections. A violation can send them back to prison for the remaining time on the sentence.

Prior Convictions Change the Math

Wisconsin imposes much harsher penalties on people with prior serious sex-crime convictions. Under Wis. Stat. § 939.618, a person with any prior conviction for first- or second-degree sexual assault who commits another first- or second-degree offense faces a mandatory bifurcated sentence with at least three and a half years of confinement, and probation is not available.⁷

A person who has a prior first-degree sexual assault conviction and is then convicted of first-degree sexual assault again faces life imprisonment without the possibility of parole or extended supervision.⁷ It is one of the few scenarios in Wisconsin law where a true life-without-release sentence is mandatory.

Sex Offender Registration

A first-degree sexual assault conviction triggers mandatory registration under Wis. Stat. § 301.45. Registrants must provide home address, employment information, school enrollment, vehicle details, and a current photograph. Any change requires an update to the Department of Corrections within 10 days.⁸ People on parole or extended supervision face a tighter rule: address changes must be reported before the move happens, or within 24 hours if the change was unexpected.

Failure to comply with registration requirements is itself a Class H felony carrying up to six years of imprisonment.⁹ Registration is lifelong for anyone who lives, works, or attends school in Wisconsin.

Where You Can Live After Release

Extended supervision for sex offenders comes with housing rules that go well beyond standard post-prison monitoring. Under Wis. Stat. § 302.116, the Department of Corrections must approve the residence before release. The department evaluates whether the proposed home gives the person access to potential victims, and if the victim was a child, it coordinates with local schools and child care providers on proximity.¹⁰

Everyone living in the approved residence must be informed of the offender’s criminal history. If the victim was a child who lived with the offender at the time of the offense, the offender cannot return to that home unless both the supervision officer and the treatment provider decide it would not endanger anyone there.¹⁰ Finding an approved residence in the offender’s home county can take months. The department must use its best efforts to place the person in that county rather than relocate them.

Civil Commitment After the Sentence Ends

Wisconsin is one of roughly 20 states that can civilly commit sex offenders after their prison sentences end. Under Chapter 980, the state can petition to commit a person as a “sexually violent person” if they were convicted of a sexually violent offense and have a mental disorder that makes it more likely than not they will commit future acts of sexual violence.¹¹

The process begins up to 90 days before the person’s scheduled release. If the court finds the criteria are met, the person is committed to a secure treatment facility, often for years or decades beyond the original sentence. Release requires the person to demonstrate “significant progress in treatment,” which the statute defines in detail: meaningful participation in treatment, understanding of the thoughts, emotions, and behaviors linked to the offending, and sustained change that a reasonable person could expect to continue.¹¹ For many people serving time on a first-degree charge, the prison sentence ends on paper but continues in practice at a state facility.

Federal Consequences That Follow a Conviction

Firearms

Federal law permanently bans anyone convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year of imprisonment from possessing firearms or ammunition. Because first-degree sexual assault carries up to 60 years, the prohibition applies automatically and lasts for life.¹² Violating the ban is a separate federal felony.

Immigration

For non-citizens, a first-degree sexual assault conviction is almost certainly a deportable offense. Federal immigration law classifies rape and sexual abuse of a minor as aggravated felonies.¹³ An aggravated felony conviction makes a person deportable, bars most forms of relief from removal, and permanently prevents future lawful admission to the United States. Petty offense and youthful offender exceptions that apply to lesser crimes are unavailable because the maximum sentence far exceeds one year.

Child Victims Are Charged Under a Different Statute

If the victim is a child, the case is not charged under § 940.225 at all. Wisconsin handles those offenses under Wis. Stat. § 948.02, which does not require the same aggravating factors. Sexual intercourse with a child under 12 is automatically a Class B felony with no need to prove a weapon, bodily harm, or pregnancy.¹⁴ If you are researching a case involving a minor, the elements and penalties come from that statute, not from the first-degree framework described above.

1
Wisconsin State Legislature. Wisconsin Code 940.225 – Sexual Assault
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Wisconsin State Legislature. Wisconsin Code 940.225 – Sexual Assault, Consent
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Wisconsin State Legislature. Wisconsin Code 940.225(5)(b) – Sexual Contact Definition
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Wisconsin State Legislature. Wisconsin Statutes 939.22 – Words and Phrases Defined
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Wisconsin State Legislature. Wisconsin Code 939.50 – Classification of Felonies
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Wisconsin State Legislature. Wisconsin Code 973.01 – Bifurcated Sentences
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Wisconsin State Legislature. Wisconsin Code 939.618 – Mandatory Minimum Sentence for Repeat Serious Sex Crimes
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Wisconsin State Legislature. Wisconsin Code 301.45 – Sex Offender Registration
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Wisconsin State Legislature. Wisconsin Code 301.45 – Sex Offender Registration, Penalty
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Wisconsin State Legislature. Wisconsin Code 302.116 – Extended Supervision Conditions for Sex Offenders
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Wisconsin State Legislature. Wisconsin Code Chapter 980 – Sexually Violent Person Commitments
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Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts
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Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1101 – Definitions, Aggravated Felony
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Wisconsin State Legislature. Wisconsin Code 948.02 – Sexual Assault of a Child