Chapter 940

940.302(1)(b) (b) “Debt bondage” means the condition of a debtor arising from the debtor’s pledge of services as a security for debt if the reasonable value of those services is not applied toward repaying the debt or if the length and nature of the services are not defined.

940.302(1)(c) (c) “Services” means activities performed by one individual at the request, under the supervision, or for the benefit of another person.

940.302(1)(d) (d) “Trafficking” means recruiting, enticing, harboring, transporting, providing, or obtaining, or attempting to recruit, entice, harbor, transport, provide, or obtain, an individual.

940.302(2) (2) 

940.302(2)(a) (a) Except as provided in s. 948.051, whoever knowingly engages in trafficking is guilty of a Class D felony if all of the following apply:

940.302(2)(a)1. 1. One of the following applies:

940.302(2)(a)1.a. a. The trafficking is for the purposes of labor or services.

940.302(2)(a)1.b. b. The trafficking is for the purposes of a commercial sex act.

940.302(2)(a)2. 2. The trafficking is done by any of the following:

940.302(2)(a)2.a. a. Causing or threatening to cause bodily harm to any individual.

940.302(2)(a)2.b. b. Causing or threatening to cause financial harm to any individual.

940.302(2)(a)2.c. c. Restraining or threatening to restrain any individual.

940.302(2)(a)2.d. d. Violating or threatening to violate a law.

940.302(2)(a)2.e. e. Destroying, concealing, removing, confiscating, or possessing, or threatening to destroy, conceal, remove, confiscate, or possess, any actual or purported passport or any other actual or purported official identification document of any individual.

940.302(2)(a)2.f. f. Extortion.

940.302(2)(a)2.g. g. Fraud or deception.

940.302(2)(a)2.h. h. Debt bondage.

940.302(2)(a)2.i. i. Controlling or threatening to control any individual’s access to an addictive controlled substance.

940.302(2)(a)2.j. j. Using any scheme, pattern, or other means to directly or indirectly coerce, threaten, or intimidate any individual.

940.302(2)(a)2.k. k. Using or threatening to use force or violence on any individual.

940.302(2)(a)2.L. L. Causing or threatening to cause any individual to do any act against the individual’s will or without the individual’s consent.

940.302(2)(b) (b) Whoever benefits in any manner from a violation of par. (a) is guilty of a Class D felony if the person knows or reasonably should have known that the benefits come from or are derived from an act or scheme described in par. (a).

940.302(2)(c) (c) Whoever knowingly receives compensation from the earnings of debt bondage, a prostitute, or a commercial sex act, as described in sub. (1) (a) 1. and 2., is guilty of a Class F felony.

940.302(3) (3) Any person who incurs an injury or death as a result of a violation of sub. (2) may bring a civil action against the person who committed the violation. In addition to actual damages, the court may award punitive damages to the injured party, not to exceed treble the amount of actual damages incurred, and reasonable attorney fees.

940.302 History History: 2007 a. 116; 2013 a. 362 ss. 27 to 33, 37.

940.302 Annotation Halting Modern Slavery in the Midwest: The Potential of Wisconsin Act 116 to Improve the State and Federal Response to Human Trafficking. Ozalp. 2009 WLR 1391.

940.302 Annotation A Path to Protection: Collateral Crime Vacatur for Wisconsin’s Victims of Sex Trafficking. Mullins. 2019 WLR 1551.

940.302 Annotation Under the Radar: Human Trafficking in Wisconsin. Monaco-Wilcox & Mueller. Wis. Law. Oct. 2017.

940.305 940.305 Taking hostages.

940.305(1) (1) Except as provided in sub. (2), whoever by force or threat of imminent force seizes, confines or restrains a person without the person’s consent and with the intent to use the person as a hostage in order to influence a person to perform or not to perform some action demanded by the actor is guilty of a Class B felony.

940.305(2) (2) Whoever commits a violation specified under sub. (1) is guilty of a Class C felony if, before the time of the actor’s arrest, each person who is held as a hostage is released without bodily harm.

940.305 History History: 1979 c. 118; 1993 a. 194; 2001 a. 109.

940.305 Annotation The constitutionality of this section is upheld. State v. Bertrand, 162 Wis. 2d 411, 469 N.W.2d 873 (Ct. App. 1991).

940.31 940.31 Kidnapping.

940.31(1) (1) Whoever does any of the following is guilty of a Class C felony:

940.31(1)(a) (a) By force or threat of imminent force carries another from one place to another without his or her consent and with intent to cause him or her to be secretly confined or imprisoned or to be carried out of this state or to be held to service against his or her will; or

940.31(1)(b) (b) By force or threat of imminent force seizes or confines another without his or her consent and with intent to cause him or her to be secretly confined or imprisoned or to be carried out of this state or to be held to service against his or her will; or

940.31(1)(c) (c) By deceit induces another to go from one place to another with intent to cause him or her to be secretly confined or imprisoned or to be carried out of this state or to be held to service against his or her will.

940.31(2) (2) 

940.31(2)(a) (a) Except as provided in par. (b), whoever violates sub. (1) with intent to cause another to transfer property in order to obtain the release of the victim is guilty of a Class B felony.

940.31(2)(b) (b) Whoever violates sub. (1) with intent to cause another to transfer property in order to obtain the release of the victim is guilty of a Class C felony if the victim is released without permanent physical injury prior to the time the first witness is sworn at the trial.

940.31 History History: 1977 c. 173; 1993 a. 194, 486; 2001 a. 109.

940.31 Annotation A conviction under sub. (1) (c) does not require proof of express or implied misrepresentations. State v. Dalton, 98 Wis. 2d 725, 298 N.W.2d 398 (Ct. App. 1980).

940.31 Annotation “Service,” as used in this section, includes acts done at the command of another and clearly embraces sexual acts performed at the command of another. State v. Clement, 153 Wis. 2d 287, 450 N.W.2d 789 (Ct. App. 1989).

940.31 Annotation Parental immunity does not extend to an agent acting for the parent. State v. Simplot, 180 Wis. 2d 383, 509 N.W.2d 338 (Ct. App. 1993).

940.31 Annotation Forced movement of a person from one part of a building to another satisfies the “carries another from one place to another” element of sub. (1) (a). State v. Wagner, 191 Wis. 2d 322, 528 N.W.2d 85 (Ct. App. 1995).

940.31 Annotation Confinement is the intentional, unlawful, and uncontested restraint by one person of the physical liberty of another. State v. Burroughs, 2002 WI App 18, 250 Wis. 2d 180, 640 N.W.2d 190, 01-0738.

940.31 Annotation Sub. (2) (b) allows for a lesser degree of kidnapping if two additional elements are present: 1) the victim is released prior to the first witness testimony, and 2) there is no permanent physical injury to the victim. Once there is some evidence of the mitigating factor of no permanent injury, the burden is on the state to prove the absence of that factor, and a court accepting a guilty plea to a charged kidnapping offense under sub. (2) (a) should ascertain a factual basis for excluding the lesser-related offense under sub. (2) (b). State v. Ravesteijn, 2006 WI App 250, 297 Wis. 2d 663, 727 N.W.2d 53, 05-1955.

940.315 940.315 Global positioning devices.

940.315(1) (1) Whoever does any of the following is guilty of a Class A misdemeanor:

940.315(1)(a) (a) Places a global positioning device or a device equipped with global positioning technology on a vehicle owned or leased by another person without that person’s consent.

940.315(1)(b) (b) Intentionally obtains information regarding another person’s movement or location generated by a global positioning device or a device equipped with global positioning technology that has been placed without that person’s consent.

940.315(2) (2) This section does not apply to a motor vehicle manufacturer or a person, acting within the scope of his or her employment, who installs an in-vehicle communication or telematics system, to a device installed by or with the permission of the vehicle owner for automobile insurance rating, underwriting, or claims handling purposes, to a law enforcement officer acting in his or her official capacity, to a parent or guardian acting to track the movement or location of his or her minor child or his or her ward, to a lienholder or agent of a lienholder acting to track the movement or location of a motor vehicle in order to repossess the motor vehicle, or to an employer or business owner acting to track the movement or location of a motor vehicle owned, leased, or assigned for use by the employer or business owner.

940.315 History History: 2015 a. 45.

940.32 940.32 Stalking.

940.32(1) (1) In this section:

940.32(1)(a) (a) “Course of conduct” means a series of 2 or more acts carried out over time, however short or long, that show a continuity of purpose, including any of the following:

940.32(1)(a)1. 1. Maintaining a visual or physical proximity to the victim.

940.32(1)(a)2. 2. Approaching or confronting the victim.

940.32(1)(a)3. 3. Appearing at the victim’s workplace or contacting the victim’s employer or coworkers.

940.32(1)(a)4. 4. Appearing at the victim’s home or contacting the victim’s neighbors.

940.32(1)(a)5. 5. Entering property owned, leased, or occupied by the victim.

940.32(1)(a)6. 6. Contacting the victim by telephone, text message, electronic message, electronic mail, or other means of electronic communication or causing the victim’s telephone or electronic device or any other person’s telephone or electronic device to ring or generate notifications repeatedly or continuously, regardless of whether a conversation ensues.

940.32(1)(a)6m. 6m. Photographing, videotaping, audiotaping, or, through any other electronic means, monitoring or recording the activities of the victim. This subdivision applies regardless of where the act occurs.

940.32(1)(a)7. 7. Sending to the victim any physical or electronic material or contacting the victim by any means, including any message, comment, or other content posted on any Internet site or web application.

940.32(1)(a)7m. 7m. Sending to a member of the victim’s family or household, or any current or former employer of the victim, or any current or former coworker of the victim, or any friend of the victim any physical or electronic material or contacting such person by any means, including any message, comment, or other content posted on any Internet site or web application for the purpose of obtaining information about, disseminating information about, or communicating with the victim.

940.32(1)(a)8. 8. Placing an object on or delivering an object to property owned, leased, or occupied by the victim.

940.32(1)(a)9. 9. Delivering an object to a member of the victim’s family or household or an employer, coworker, or friend of the victim or placing an object on, or delivering an object to, property owned, leased, or occupied by such a person with the intent that the object be delivered to the victim.

940.32(1)(a)10. 10. Causing a person to engage in any of the acts described in subds. 1. to 9.

940.32(1)(am) (am) “Domestic abuse” has the meaning given in s. 813.12 (1) (am).

940.32(1)(ap) (ap) “Domestic abuse offense” means an act of domestic abuse that constitutes a crime.

940.32(1)(c) (c) “Labor dispute” includes any controversy concerning terms, tenure or conditions of employment, or concerning the association or representation of persons in negotiating, fixing, maintaining, changing or seeking to arrange terms or conditions of employment, regardless of whether the disputants stand in the proximate relation of employer and employee.

940.32(1)(cb) (cb) “Member of a family” means a spouse, parent, child, sibling, or any other person who is related by blood or adoption to another.

940.32(1)(cd) (cd) “Member of a household” means a person who regularly resides in the household of another or who within the previous 6 months regularly resided in the household of another.

940.32(1)(cg) (cg) “Personally identifiable information” has the meaning given in s. 19.62 (5).

940.32(1)(cr) (cr) “Record” has the meaning given in s. 19.32 (2).

940.32(1)(d) (d) “Suffer serious emotional distress” means to feel terrified, intimidated, threatened, harassed, or tormented.

940.32(2) (2) Whoever meets all of the following criteria is guilty of a Class I felony:

940.32(2)(a) (a) The actor intentionally engages in a course of conduct directed at a specific person that would cause a reasonable person under the same circumstances to suffer serious emotional distress or to fear bodily injury to or the death of himself or herself or a member of his or her family or household.

940.32(2)(b) (b) The actor knows or should know that at least one of the acts that constitute the course of conduct will cause the specific person to suffer serious emotional distress or place the specific person in reasonable fear of bodily injury to or the death of himself or herself or a member of his or her family or household.

940.32(2)(c) (c) The actor’s acts cause the specific person to suffer serious emotional distress or induce fear in the specific person of bodily injury to or the death of himself or herself or a member of his or her family or household.

940.32(2e) (2e) Whoever meets all of the following criteria is guilty of a Class I felony:

940.32(2e)(a) (a) After having been convicted of sexual assault under s. 940.225, 948.02, 948.025, or 948.085 or a domestic abuse offense, the actor engages in any of the acts listed in sub. (1) (a) 1. to 10., if the act is directed at the victim of the sexual assault or the domestic abuse offense.

940.32(2e)(b) (b) The actor knows or should know that the act will cause the specific person to suffer serious emotional distress or place the specific person in reasonable fear of bodily injury to or the death of himself or herself or a member of his or her family or household.

940.32(2e)(c) (c) The actor’s act causes the specific person to suffer serious emotional distress or induces fear in the specific person of bodily injury to or the death of himself or herself or a member of his or her family or household.

940.32(2m) (2m) Whoever violates sub. (2) is guilty of a Class H felony if any of the following applies:

940.32(2m)(a) (a) The actor has a previous conviction for a violent crime, as defined in s. 939.632 (1) (e) 1., or a previous conviction under this section or s. 947.013 (1r), (1t), (1v), or (1x).

940.32(2m)(b) (b) The actor has a previous conviction for a crime, the victim of that crime is the victim of the present violation of sub. (2), and the present violation occurs within 7 years after the prior conviction.

940.32(2m)(c) (c) The actor intentionally gains access or causes another person to gain access to a record in electronic format that contains personally identifiable information regarding the victim in order to facilitate the violation.