Can Prior Acts or Criminal Convictions Be Used Against Me in Sexual Assault Cases?

If you face prosecution for sexual assault, you may wonder whether the prosecutors will bring up past sexual assault or other criminal acts or convictions during your trial. Although the law generally prohibits the introduction of a defendant’s prior acts or criminal history during trial, prosecutors may use these past events in limited circumstances, usually to refute a defense claim rather than to show that the defendant committed the crime because they have a “criminal” nature. 

Prior Acts and Convictions Typically Inadmissible

The rules of evidence typically preclude the admission of a defendant’s prior criminal convictions. This is due to the risk of prejudicing the jury into believing that the defendant’s past criminal behavior serves as evidence that they committed the present charged offense. The criminal justice system ensures that a jury convicts a defendant based on the evidence from the present case, not for things that the defendant did in the past. Prosecutors may not seek convictions by arguing that a defendant has a “character” or tendency to commit crimes. However, there are some circumstances in which prosecutors can bring evidence of prior convictions into the courtroom. One of those situations is when a defendant chooses to testify and puts their credibility at issue in the case. The prosecution may present evidence that the defendant has been convicted of a crime before and the number of convictions because criminal convictions are relevant to the jury’s determination of the defendant’s credibility.

Situations Where Prosecutors Can Introduce Prior Acts

Typical situations where trial courts may allow prosecutors to introduce evidence of a defendant’s prior acts include:

• Pattern or Motive – Courts sometimes allow using a defendant’s prior convictions to demonstrate a pattern of behavior or similar motive. 
• Absence of Mistake – In some circumstances, prosecutors may use a defendant’s prior convictions to refute a defendant’s claim of mistake of fact by showing that they’ve committed and received convictions for similar offenses in the past. 

Wisconsin Courts Have Held that Prior Conviction Evidence is Admissible in Certain Sexual Assault Cases

In a recent case, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals applied the state’s prior-conviction statute to a sexual assault case. The state charged the defendant with two counts of first-degree sexual assault of a child. Pre-trial, the state moved under the prior-conviction statute to admit proof that the defendant had a 1984 Minnesota conviction for sexually assaulting a child. The trial court denied the motion, finding that the factual dissimilarities between the Minnesota conviction and the present case outweighed the similarities.

The Wisconsin Court of Appeals held that the trial court erred in finding dissimilar circumstances between the Minnesota and present cases; the court of appeals held that the prior-conviction statute did not require identical circumstances but instead followed the “greater latitude rule.” However, the court of appeals noted that the prosecution could only use the fact that the prior conviction occurred, not the details underlying that conviction.

Contact a Criminal Defense Lawyer Today

If you were arrested and charged with sexual assault in Wisconsin, you need highly experienced legal advocacy to protect your rights and interests in the criminal justice system. Contact Cohen Law Offices by calling us today at (715) 514-5051 for a confidential consultation with a dedicated criminal defense attorney.