Wis. Stat. § 940.225 — WI Code / Chapter 940 / Section 940.225
Sexual assault.
Status: in_force

(1) First degree sexual assault. Whoever does any of the following is guilty of a Class B felony:

(a) Has sexual contact or sexual intercourse with another person without consent of that person and causes pregnancy or great bodily harm to that person.

(b) Has sexual contact or sexual intercourse with another person without consent of that person by use or threat of use of a dangerous weapon or any article used or fashioned in a manner to lead the victim reasonably to believe it to be a dangerous weapon.

(c) Is aided or abetted by one or more other persons and has sexual contact or sexual intercourse with another person without consent of that person by use or threat of force or violence.

(d) Commits a violation under sub. (2) against an individual who is 60 years of age or older. This paragraph applies irrespective of whether the defendant had actual knowledge of the victim’s age. A mistake regarding the victim’s age is not a defense to a prosecution under this paragraph.

(e) Commits a violation under sub. (2) against an adult at risk, as defined in s. 55.01 (1e) . This paragraph applies only if the defendant had actual knowledge that the victim is an adult at risk.

(2) Second degree sexual assault. Whoever does any of the following is guilty of a Class C felony:

(a) Has sexual contact or sexual intercourse with another person without consent of that person by use or threat of force or violence.

(b) Has sexual contact or sexual intercourse with another person without consent of that person and causes injury, illness, disease or impairment of a sexual or reproductive organ, or mental anguish requiring psychiatric care for the victim.

(c) Has sexual contact or sexual intercourse with a person who suffers from a mental illness or deficiency which renders that person temporarily or permanently incapable of appraising the person’s conduct, and the defendant knows of such condition.

(cm) Has sexual contact or sexual intercourse with a person who is under the influence of an intoxicant to a degree which renders that person incapable of giving consent if the defendant has actual knowledge that the person is incapable of giving consent and the defendant has the purpose to have sexual contact or sexual intercourse with the person while the person is incapable of giving consent.

(d) Has sexual contact or sexual intercourse with a person who the defendant knows is unconscious.

(f) Is aided or abetted by one or more other persons and has sexual contact or sexual intercourse with another person without the consent of that person.

(g) Is an employee of a facility or program under s. 940.295 (2) (b) , (c) , (h) or (k) and has sexual contact or sexual intercourse with a person who is a patient or resident of the facility or program.

(h) Has sexual contact or sexual intercourse with an individual who is confined in a correctional institution if the actor is a correctional staff member. This paragraph does not apply if the individual with whom the actor has sexual contact or sexual intercourse is subject to prosecution for the sexual contact or sexual intercourse under this section.

(i) Has sexual contact or sexual intercourse with an individual who is on probation, parole, or extended supervision if the actor is a probation, parole, or extended supervision agent who supervises the individual, either directly or through a subordinate, in his or her capacity as a probation, parole, or extended supervision agent or who has influenced or has attempted to influence another probation, parole, or extended supervision agent’s supervision of the individual. This paragraph does not apply if the individual with whom the actor has sexual contact or sexual intercourse is subject to prosecution for the sexual contact or sexual intercourse under this section.

(j) Is a licensee, employee, or nonclient resident of an entity, as defined in s. 48.685 (1) (b) or 50.065 (1) (c) , and has sexual contact or sexual intercourse with a client of the entity.

(k) Is a law enforcement officer and has sexual contact or sexual intercourse with any person who is detained by any law enforcement officer, as provided under s. 968.24 , or is in the custody of any law enforcement officer. This paragraph applies whether the custody is lawful or unlawful and whether the detainment or custody is actual or constructive. Consent is not an issue in an action under this paragraph.

(3) Third degree sexual assault.

(a) Whoever has sexual intercourse with a person without the consent of that person is guilty of a Class G felony.

(b) Whoever has sexual contact in the manner described in sub. (5) (b) 2. or 3. with a person without the consent of that person is guilty of a Class G felony.

(3m) Fourth degree sexual assault. Except as provided in sub. (3) , whoever has sexual contact with a person without the consent of that person is guilty of a Class A misdemeanor.

(4) Consent. “Consent”, as used in this section, means words or overt actions by a person who is competent to give informed consent indicating a freely given agreement to have sexual intercourse or sexual contact. Consent is not an issue in alleged violations of sub. (2) (c) , (cm) , (d) , (g) , (h) , and (i) . The following persons are presumed incapable of consent but the presumption may be rebutted by competent evidence, subject to the provisions of s. 972.11 (2) :

(b) A person suffering from a mental illness or defect which impairs capacity to appraise personal conduct.

(c) A person who is unconscious or for any other reason is physically unable to communicate unwillingness to an act.

(5) Definitions. In this section:

(abm) “Client” means an individual who receives direct care or treatment services from an entity.

(acm) “Correctional institution” means a jail or correctional facility, as defined in s. 961.01 (12m) , a juvenile correctional facility, as defined in s. 938.02 (10p) , or a juvenile detention facility, as defined in s. 938.02 (10r) .

(ad) “Correctional staff member” means an individual who works at a correctional institution, including a volunteer.

(ag) “Inpatient facility” has the meaning designated in s. 51.01 (10) .

(ai) “Intoxicant” means any alcohol beverage, hazardous inhalant, controlled substance, controlled substance analog, or other drug, or any combination thereof.

(aj) “Law enforcement officer” has the meaning designated in s. 165.85 (2) (c) .

(ak) “Nonclient resident” means an individual who resides, or is expected to reside, at an entity, who is not a client of the entity, and who has, or is expected to have, regular, direct contact with the clients of the entity.

(am) “Patient” means any person who does any of the following:

1. Receives care or treatment from a facility or program under s. 940.295 (2) (b) , (c) , (h) or (k) , from an employee of a facility or program or from a person providing services under contract with a facility or program.

2. Arrives at a facility or program under s. 940.295 (2) (b) , (c) , (h) or (k) for the purpose of receiving care or treatment from a facility or program under s. 940.295 (2) (b) , (c) , (h) or (k) , from an employee of a facility or program under s. 940.295 (2) (b) , (c) , (h) or (k) , or from a person providing services under contract with a facility or program under s. 940.295 (2) (b) , (c) , (h) or (k) .

(ar) “Resident” means any person who resides in a facility under s. 940.295 (2) (b) , (c) , (h) or (k) .

(b) “Sexual contact” means any of the following:

1. Any of the following types of intentional touching, whether direct or through clothing, if that intentional touching is either for the purpose of sexually degrading; or for the purpose of sexually humiliating the complainant or sexually arousing or gratifying the defendant or if the touching contains the elements of actual or attempted battery under s. 940.60 (1) or s. 940.19 (1) , 2023 stats.:

a. Intentional touching by the defendant or, upon the defendant’s instruction, by another person, by the use of any body part or object, of the complainant’s intimate parts.

b. Intentional touching by the complainant, by the use of any body part or object, of the defendant’s intimate parts or, if done upon the defendant’s instructions, the intimate parts of another person.

c. Touching by the complainant of the ejaculate, urine, or feces of any person upon the intentional instructions of the defendant, upon the use or threat of force or violence by the defendant, or upon an intentional act of the defendant.

2. Intentional penile ejaculation of ejaculate or intentional emission of urine or feces by the defendant or, upon the defendant’s instruction, by another person upon any part of the body clothed or unclothed of the complainant if that ejaculation or emission is either for the purpose of sexually degrading or sexually humiliating the complainant or for the purpose of sexually arousing or gratifying the defendant.

3. For the purpose of sexually degrading or humiliating the complainant or sexually arousing or gratifying the defendant, intentionally causing the complainant to ejaculate or emit urine or feces on any part of the defendant’s body, whether clothed or unclothed.

(c) “Sexual intercourse” includes the meaning assigned under s. 939.22 (36) as well as cunnilingus, fellatio or anal intercourse between persons or any other intrusion, however slight, of any part of a person’s body or of any object into the genital or anal opening either by the defendant or upon the defendant’s instruction. The emission of semen is not required.

(d) “State treatment facility” has the meaning designated in s. 51.01 (15) .

(6) Marriage not a bar to prosecution. A defendant shall not be presumed to be incapable of violating this section because of marriage to the complainant.

(7) Death of victim. This section applies whether a victim is dead or alive at the time of the sexual contact or sexual intercourse.

History: 1975 c. 184 , 421 ; 1977 c. 173 ; 1979 c. 24 , 25 , 175 , 221 ; 1981 c. 89 , 308 , 309 , 310 , 311 ; 1985 a. 134 ; 1987 a. 245 , 332 , 352 ; 1987 a. 403 ss. 235 , 236 , 256 ; 1993 a. 445 ; 1995 a. 69 ; 1997 a. 220 ; 2001 a. 109 ; 2003 a. 51 ; 2005 a. 273 , 344 , 388 , 435 , 436 ; 2013 a. 83 ; 2017 a. 174 ; 2021 a. 76 , 188 ; 2023 a. 61 ; 2025 a. 24 s. 93 ; 2025 a. 149 .