3rd Degree Sexual Assault in Wisconsin: Penalties and Consequences

Third degree sexual assault in Wisconsin is a Class G felony under Wisconsin Statute 940.225(3), covering nonconsensual sexual intercourse and certain forms of nonconsensual sexual contact. A conviction carries up to ten years of combined prison time and extended supervision, a fine of up to $25,000, and mandatory registration as a sex offender.¹

What Conduct the Charge Covers

The statute has two parts. Subsection (a) makes it a Class G felony to have sexual intercourse with another person without that person’s consent. Subsection (b) makes it a Class G felony to have certain kinds of sexual contact with another person without consent.¹

Wisconsin’s definition of “sexual intercourse” is broader than everyday usage. It includes any penetration of the vulva or anus by a penis, any intrusion of a body part or object into a genital or anal opening, and oral or anal sex. Even slight penetration counts. Prosecutors do not need to prove a completed act in the ordinary sense.

Not every unwanted sexual contact reaches third degree. Only the specific types listed in the statute’s definition section qualify. Other forms of nonconsensual sexual contact are charged as fourth degree sexual assault, a Class A misdemeanor.¹

How Consent Is Defined

Consent under Section 940.225(4) means words or clear physical actions by someone competent to make an informed decision, showing they freely agreed to the sexual activity. Silence alone is never enough, and the Wisconsin Supreme Court has confirmed that failing to physically resist does not equal consent.¹

Some people are legally presumed incapable of consenting. That includes anyone with a mental illness or condition that impairs their ability to understand what is happening, and anyone unconscious or physically unable to communicate unwillingness. Those presumptions can be challenged with evidence, but the starting point is that these individuals could not consent.

The prosecutor must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the sexual act happened without the other person’s freely given agreement. The state does not have to prove the alleged victim actively said no or fought back. It has to prove the absence of an affirmative agreement. Marriage is not a defense. Wisconsin law explicitly states that being married to the other person creates no presumption of consent.¹

Prison, Supervision, and Fines

A Class G felony carries a maximum $25,000 fine and a maximum ten-year prison term, or both.² Ten years does not mean ten straight years behind bars. Wisconsin uses bifurcated sentencing, which splits any prison sentence into two phases.³

The first phase is confinement in a state prison, capped at five years for a Class G felony. The second phase is extended supervision in the community, also capped at five years. Extended supervision must run at least 25 percent of the confinement term. If the judge orders four years of confinement, extended supervision has to be at least one year. Violating the terms of extended supervision can send you back to prison for the remaining supervision time.

Judges have wide discretion within these limits. They weigh the severity of the offense, criminal history, character, and the need to protect the public. A fine can accompany prison or stand alone, though a fine-only sentence for a felony this serious would be unusual.

If You Have Prior Convictions

Wisconsin’s habitual criminality statute lets prosecutors add years to the maximum. A prior felony conviction within the five years before the current offense can add up to four years, pushing the ceiling from ten to fourteen. Prior misdemeanors within the same window can add up to two years.⁴ The enhancement is not automatic; the prosecutor has to charge the repeater status.

Wisconsin’s mandatory minimum for repeat serious sex crimes applies only to first and second degree convictions, not to third degree.

How Long Prosecutors Have to File

Prosecutors have ten years from the date of the offense to file a third degree sexual assault charge.⁵ That is longer than the general six-year felony limit but shorter than the child sex offense timelines, which can run until the victim turns 45.

The clock can also be extended by DNA evidence. If law enforcement collects biological material, develops a DNA profile, and matches it to a suspect before the ten years run out, prosecutors get an additional twelve months from the date of the match to bring charges, even if the ordinary deadline has already passed. Time the defendant spent outside Wisconsin does not count toward the ten years either.

Sex Offender Registration

A third degree conviction triggers mandatory registration under Section 301.45. The default registration period is fifteen years, counted from the date of discharge from incarceration or supervision. If the sentence involved neither prison nor supervision, the fifteen years runs from the conviction date.⁶

Registration becomes lifetime if you have two or more convictions for registerable sex offenses, if you are determined to be a sexually violent predator, or if a court specifically orders lifetime registration. Lifetime registrants report to the Department of Corrections every 90 days rather than annually.

Registrants must provide their name and aliases, date of birth, home address, employer, school enrollment, internet identifiers, a current photograph, and fingerprints. Any change in that information has to be reported within ten days. Plans to move out of state, start school in another state, or start working in another state require notice at least ten days beforehand. Failing to comply is itself a felony.

Other Consequences of a Conviction

The sentence is only part of what follows a conviction. Several other consequences kick in automatically.

Firearms

Federal law permanently bars anyone convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year in prison from possessing firearms or ammunition.⁷ Because a Class G felony carries up to ten years, this ban applies. It covers all firearms, including hunting rifles and shotguns, and violating it is a separate federal crime.

Immigration

For noncitizens, a sexual assault conviction can be devastating. Certain sex offenses count as “aggravated felonies” under the Immigration and Nationality Act, which makes the person deportable regardless of how long they have lived in the United States. An aggravated felony also blocks most immigration relief, including a green card, naturalization, or asylum. A guilty plea that results in no jail time can still count as a conviction for immigration purposes.

Housing

Federal HUD regulations at 24 CFR 982.553 and 960.204 require public housing agencies to deny admission to anyone subject to a lifetime sex offender registration requirement.⁸ A single third degree conviction carrying the standard fifteen-year registration would not, by itself, trigger this specific ban. A second registerable offense could convert the registration to lifetime and shut off public housing.

DNA Sample

Wisconsin requires every person sentenced for a felony, including anyone placed on probation, to provide a biological sample for DNA analysis. The court orders it at sentencing, and the profile goes into the state crime laboratory database.⁹

No Expungement

Wisconsin’s expungement statute only reaches offenses with a maximum prison term of six years or less. A Class G felony carries a ten-year maximum, so a third degree sexual assault conviction cannot be expunged under any circumstances.¹⁰ The record is permanent.

Employment

No federal law flatly prohibits hiring someone with a sex offense conviction, but the practical barriers are severe.¹¹ Many employers in healthcare, education, and childcare are prohibited by licensing rules from hiring registered sex offenders. Background checks will surface both the conviction and the registry status for as long as registration lasts.

International Travel

If the offense involved a minor, federal law requires the State Department to issue a passport with a unique identifier noting the bearer’s status as a convicted sex offender.¹² Even without that identifier, registered offenders must notify the Department of Corrections before traveling internationally, and many countries deny entry to people with sex offense convictions.

GPS Monitoring

Wisconsin’s lifetime GPS tracking statute primarily targets specific child sex offenses. A standard third degree sexual assault conviction involving an adult victim does not trigger lifetime GPS monitoring. Cases involving a child victim charged under a qualifying statute can.¹³

Where Third Degree Sits Among the Four Degrees

Wisconsin has four degrees of sexual assault, and third degree is the baseline felony charge. Prosecutors file it when they can prove nonconsensual intercourse or qualifying nonconsensual contact but cannot prove one of the aggravating factors that would push the case higher.

First degree is a Class B felony. It applies when the assault causes pregnancy or great bodily harm, involves a weapon or something reasonably appearing to be one, or involves multiple attackers using force or threats. Assaulting a victim aged 60 or older under second degree circumstances also elevates to first degree.¹
Second degree is a Class C felony. It covers force or threats of force, physical injury or mental anguish requiring psychiatric treatment, incapacitating intoxication the defendant knew about, and institutional settings where the defendant held authority over the victim, such as correctional staff, therapists, or probation agents.
Third degree is a Class G felony, applied when none of those aggravators are present but the intercourse or qualifying contact still happened without consent.
Fourth degree is a Class A misdemeanor, covering other nonconsensual sexual contact that does not meet the third degree threshold.

If the facts of your case involve any of the first or second degree aggravators, expect the charge to reflect that. If they involve contact outside the statutory definition, the charge may drop to fourth degree.

1
Wisconsin State Legislature. Wisconsin Statutes 940.225 – Sexual Assault
2
Wisconsin State Legislature. Wisconsin Code 939.50 – Classification of Felonies
3
Wisconsin State Legislature. Wisconsin Code 973.01 – Bifurcated Sentences
4
Wisconsin State Legislature. Wisconsin Code 939.62 – Increased Penalty for Habitual Criminality
5
Wisconsin State Legislature. Wisconsin Code 939.74 – Time Limitations on Prosecutions
6
Wisconsin State Legislature. Wisconsin Code 301.45 – Sex Offender Registration
7
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts
8
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. State Registered Lifetime Sex Offenders in the Housing Choice Voucher and Public Housing Programs FAQ
9
Wisconsin State Legislature. Wisconsin Code 973.047 – Deoxyribonucleic Acid Analysis Requirements
10
Wisconsin State Legislature. Wisconsin Statutes 973.015 – Special Disposition
11
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Enforcement Guidance on the Consideration of Arrest and Conviction Records in Employment Decisions Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act
12
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 22 USC 212b – Unique Passport Identifiers for Covered Sex Offenders
13
Wisconsin State Legislature. Wisconsin Code 301.48 – Global Positioning System Tracking