Being accused of a sex offense can be a traumatic experience. This is especially true if you were a previously convicted sex offender, wanting to move on with your life. The social stigma associated with the earlier sex offense conviction can seem like it turns everyone from your side.
Accusations of sex offenses are treated extremely seriously in Wisconsin. In fact, anyone who is convicted of a second serious sex offense will automatically be sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. If the situation also involves accusations of aggravated assault with someone who is underage, the consequences can be even more severe. The child abuse charge alone can carry a maximum sentence of 6 years and up to a $10,000 fine.
A 25-year-old man from Appleton, Wisconsin, recently found himself facing precisely this situation. He has been accused of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl. The girl alleges that the man has had sex with her on ten separate occasions. These accusations led to charges of “repeated sexual assault of a child.”
She also says that he beat her because she wouldn’t give him some cigarettes. She claims that he hit her face and banged her head against the floor. She also says that he pulled some of her hair out during the alleged altercation. That alleged incident led to the child abuse charges.
Regardless of the validity of the charges against the man, his life has already been impacted. Bond was set at $100,000 for the twenty-five-year-old suspect. He was previously convicted of sexual assault in Illinois. This accusation, if not properly defended, will put him away in prison for life because of Wisconsin’s harsh sex offender laws.
Source: Appleton Post-Crescent, “Appleton man: Ricky Ortiz-Rivas- charged with sexual assault,” 11 May, 2011