Wisconsin expands criminal liability in grooming and at-risk adult cases

Wisconsin enacted two 2026 criminal-law changes that broaden liability in cases involving children and adults at risk. Madison defense firm Chirafisi Anderson says the new statutes raise the stakes around intent, knowledge, and even pretrial asset restraints.

Why it matters: - Wisconsin's new laws expand the range of conduct that can trigger felony exposure in cases involving children and adults at risk. - The changes also raise the importance of statutory definitions, alleged intent, and what an accused person knew at the time of the conduct. - The laws can create consequences before a case is resolved, including asset restraint in some financial exploitation matters.

What happened: - Wisconsin enacted 2025 Wisconsin Acts 88 and 149 in 2026. - Chirafisi Anderson, S.C., a Madison criminal defense firm, highlighted the practical impact of the new laws for people under investigation or charged in these cases. - Act 88 created a standalone criminal offense for child grooming under Wis. Stat. § 948.072. - Act 149 changed several criminal statutes involving adults at risk.

The details: - Act 88 applies to a course of conduct, pattern of behavior, or series of acts done with the intent to condition, seduce, solicit, lure, or entice a child to engage in sexual activity or certain conduct involving sexually explicit material. - The grooming law sets graduated felony penalties depending on the circumstances of the alleged conduct. - Grooming prosecutions can focus on the State's view of intent from communications, interactions, and alleged patterns of behavior, even when no completed sexual offense is alleged. - Act 149 expands circumstances where enhanced penalties may apply in cases involving adults at risk. - Act 149 also modifies certain battery and sexual assault provisions and adds procedures tied to financial exploitation allegations. - In some applications of Act 149, prosecutors must address what the accused actually knew about the alleged victim's status or circumstances. - Act 149 can allow assets to be restrained in certain financial exploitation cases before a criminal case is resolved.

Between the lines: - The new statutes appear to move Wisconsin criminal law toward earlier intervention, with prosecutors able to build cases around intent, relationship context, and status-based protections. - That shift may make defense arguments about knowledge, definitions, and the exact scope of communications more important than in traditional completed-offense cases. - David K. Anderson said the context of communications, the nature of the relationship, and evidence of intent can become especially important in Act 88 cases. - Anderson also said adult-at-risk status can materially change criminal exposure, but actual knowledge may still be a critical issue where the statute requires it.

What's next: - Individuals facing investigations or charges under Acts 88 or 149 are likely to see close disputes over intent, knowledge, and the surrounding facts. - Defense counsel may focus on whether the accused understood the alleged victim's status and whether the communications support the specific intent required by the statute. - Cases involving financial exploitation allegations may also bring early fights over restrained assets and other pretrial consequences.

The bottom line: - Wisconsin's 2026 criminal-law changes give prosecutors new tools in grooming and at-risk adult cases, but they also create new openings for fact-heavy defenses around intent and knowledge.