Van Wagner & Wood :: Criminal Defense :: Sex Crimes :: Sexual Assault :: Sexual Assault Of Minor Child

Incest

Van Wagner & Wood, S.C.
Wisconsin Incest & Sexual Assault Defense

Incest occurs when a person marries or has non-marital sexual intercourse with a person to whom he or she is related. Two people must be further removed from one another in blood relations than second cousins. Criminal charges for incest of this nature are a Class F felony.

Incest also occurs when a person marries or has sexual intercourse or sexual contact with a child he or she knows is related, either by blood or adoption, and the child is related in a degree of kinship closer than second cousins. Criminal charges for incest of this nature are a Class C felony.

Incest also occurs when a person responsible for a child's welfare allows, permits, or fails to prevent sexual intercourse or sexual contact between a child and another person whom the caregiver knows to be related by blood or adoption, so long as the caregiver is emotionally and physically able to act to prevent the sexual contact or intercourse. Criminal charges for incest of this nature are a Class C felony.

A person convicted of incest in either of the above situations is subject to the penalties of a Class C felony.

Defending people accused of incest

Incest is a sex-based crime, but unlike most sexually-motivated crimes and perhaps contrary to popular belief, most incest crimes are committed because people who are related want to also have a relationship. In some cases, incest is charged as it is commonly known - as a crime of sexual assault or abuse upon a child or children by a parent or stepparent. However, the majorty of cases don't involve sexual abuses, a fact seldom known by people who serve on a jury to determine the fate of a person who has been charged with incest. For that reason, as well as the entirety of the case involving relatives who have taken sides, long term relationships between people who have known the most private details of the accused person's life intimately and the victim often being young or a minor, incest cases are particularly difficult to defend. Those types of sex cases require extensive criminal defense experience, and a prized understanding of the prosecuting attorneys case. At Van Wagner & Wood, the criminal defense attorneys meet those burdens, and they will defend you regardless of the charges.

Wisconsin Criminal Defense Attorneys

Van Wagner & Wood is a successful criminal and drunk driving defense law firm located in downtown Madison, Wisconsin. Attorney Christopher T. Van Wagner and Attorney Tracey A. Wood represent people who have been charged with incent, sexual assault (rape), enticement, solicitation, sexual assault of a minor child, and other sex-based crimes.

The criminal defense attorneys at Van Wagner & Wood reperesent people whose cases are heard in a Wisconsin Circuit Court or Federal District Court located in Wiscosnin. VWW's offices are located in downtown Madison, Wisconsin just off of capitol square. They have represented people in almost every court in Wiscosnin in addition to Dane County Circuit Court (Madison WI), from southern Wisconsin's Rock County (Janesville), Walworth County (Elkhorn), Grant (Lancaster), Iowa (Dodgeville), and Lafayette (Darlington) areas to Sauke (Baraboo), Columbia (Portage), Richland (Richland Center), Crawford (Prairie du Chien), La Crosse (LaCrosse) Counties to the central Portage (Stevens Point), Eau Claire (EauClaire), and Marathon (Wausau) counties, and across the state including Dodge (Juneau), Washington (West Bend), Waukesha (Waukesha) counties. For a complete view of the counties where the attorneys appear, please see Wisconsin Circuit Courts.

Van Wagner & Wood's attorneys also appear in the Wisconsin Court of Appeals (on state criminal & drunk driving appeals), the United States Federal Courts in Wisconsin (usually on drug charges and conspiracy allegations) and the United States District Court of Appeals (on federal criminal appeals).

Related Information:
Attorney Christopher Van Wagner | Attorney Tracey Wood | Firm Overview
Internet Stings | Sexual Gratification | Child Pornography | Sex Crimes
Felony Charges | Felony Penalties | Misdemeanor Charges | Misdemeanor Penalties
Jury Trials | Appeals | Prior Conviction Challenges

Free Initial Consultation

The criminal defense attorneys at Van Wagner & Wood are very experienced in defending people who have been charged with a crime or drunk driving, and they are very straightforward with their clients, never sugar coating the true or building a client up only to let them down in the end. For that reason, they prefer to refer to a first initial consultation as a mere first impression analysis because no good criminal defense attorney can even begin to fully digest all of the complexities of a sex crime case in the short and often hurried first meeting. If you would like a straightforward brief and professional opinion about the reality of the state's case against you and how you might prevail, please contact the attorneys at Van Wagner & Wood right away.

If you have been charged with a crime, if you are under investigation for a crime, or if you have already been convicted of a crime but believe the conviction or sentence were wrong, please call ( in the Madison area, or statewide) the attorneys at Van Wagner & Wood for a brief but professional free first-impression analysis of your case. You can also send your case information online, or email the attorneys.