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Wisconsin Passes Law Enhancing Criminal Penalties Against Vulnerable Adults
On April 2, 2026, Wisconsin enacted 2025 Wisconsin Act 149. This is new legislation that adds onto existing legislation to significantly expand the criminal penalties and procedural protections that apply when the victim of a crime is a vulnerable adult.
The law began as Assembly Bill 19 and extends several protections that previously applied only to elder persons — individuals 60 or older — to a broader category called "adults at risk." For anyone facing criminal charges in Milwaukee or elsewhere in Wisconsin that allegedly involve a vulnerable adult, this law is directly relevant to your case. Our Milwaukee criminal defense attorneys can explain more.
What Is Wisconsin Act 149?
Wisconsin Act 149 amends several sections of the Wisconsin Statutes to bring adults at risk under many of the same legal protections that have long applied to older adults. The changes affect criminal penalties, battery and sexual assault charges, restraining order procedures, and a court's ability to freeze a defendant's assets. The major changes include:
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Allowing adults at risk to appear by phone or live video at restraining order hearings rather than in person
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Creating a penalty enhancer that increases the maximum prison term for crimes committed against an adult at risk
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Expanding the battery statute to cover adults at risk alongside elder persons
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Elevating sexual assault against an adult at risk to a first-degree charge when the defendant knew the victim's status
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Authorizing courts to freeze a defendant's assets when he or she is charged with financial exploitation of an adult at risk
Each of these changes carries serious implications for anyone accused of a crime involving a vulnerable adult in Wisconsin courts.
How Does Wisconsin Law Define an "Adult at Risk"?
The term "adult at risk" is defined in Section 55.01(1e) of the Wisconsin Statutes. In general terms, an adult at risk is someone who is 18 or older and is vulnerable to abuse, neglect, or financial exploitation because of:
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A physical or mental condition, or
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A developmental disability, or
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Some other factor that affects his or her ability to protect himself or herself
This definition is different from, and in addition to, an "elder person," which simply means anyone 60 or older. Whether a particular person qualifies as an adult at risk requires an evaluation from the prosecutor.
That is important when it comes to how charges are filed and what the prosecution must prove. Whether the alleged victim is truly an adult at risk is one of the first things a defense attorney should examine when a client is charged with a crime.
What Is the Penalty Enhancer Created by Wisconsin Act 149?
Under the amended section 939.623 of the Wisconsin Statutes, if the victim of a crime is an adult at risk or an elder person, the maximum term of prison time for that crime can be increased beyond what the charge would normally allow. This is called a penalty enhancer, which means it does not create a separate crime. Instead, it allows prosecutors to ask for a longer sentence for an existing crime.
One of the most important aspects of this law is that the person who is being charged has to know that the alleged victim was an adult at risk. For elder person victims, the enhancer applies regardless of whether the defendant knew the victim was 60 or older. For adult-at-risk victims, the enhancer only applies if the defendant had actual knowledge that the victim was an adult at risk at the time of the crime.
Prosecutors have to have evidence that the defendant knew the alleged victim was an adult at risk. From a defense perspective, this is a good opportunity for a criminal defense attorney to attack the prosecutor’s case.
How Does Wisconsin Act 149 Change Battery and Sexual Assault Charges?
Before Act 149, the battery enhancement law covered only crimes against elder persons. The new law adds adults at risk to that statute, with the same tiered felony structure that already applied to elder person victims:
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Intentionally causing great bodily harm to an adult at risk is now a Class C felony.
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Intentionally causing bodily harm is a Class H felony.
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Causing bodily harm under circumstances likely to produce great bodily harm is a Class F felony.
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Recklessly causing great bodily harm is a Class E felony.
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Recklessly causing bodily harm is a Class I felony.
Act 149 also creates a new provision under section 940.225(1)(e) of the Wisconsin Statutes. Under this section, committing what would otherwise be second-degree sexual assault against an adult at risk — when the defendant knew the victim was an adult at risk — is elevated to first-degree sexual assault. First-degree sexual assault is one of the most serious charges in the Wisconsin criminal code and can result in decades in prison.
How Does the New Asset Freezing Provision Work?
Under the amended section 971.109 of the Wisconsin Statutes, prosecutors can now petition a court to freeze a defendant's assets when he or she is charged with financial exploitation of an adult at risk, not just an elder person as the prior version of the statute allowed. The charge must involve property valued at more than $2,500.
If the court grants the petition, the order can freeze up to 100 percent of the assets allegedly involved in the crime. The defendant is prohibited from selling, transferring, or giving away any of that property without court approval. Banks or third parties holding those assets are bound by the order as well.
These hearings can be held without the defendant present, which means an asset freeze can go into effect even before the defendant is even aware the prosecution filed an asset freeze. If your assets have been frozen under this provision, this can make it hard to hire an attorney or do basic things like pay rent.
Call a Milwaukee Criminal Defense Attorney Today
Wisconsin Act 149 is already changing how prosecutors charge cases involving elderly people and at-risk adults. If you are facing charges that fall under this law, contact a Wisconsin criminal defense lawyer at Gimbel, Reilly, Guerin & Brown, LLP today at 414-271-1440 to confidentially discuss your situation.
