Creating a sexual assault victim bill of rights; collection and reporting of data regarding sexual assault kits; storage and processing of sexual assault kits; tracking of sexual assault kits in sexual assault cases; and requiring the exercise of rule-making authority. (FE)

Sexual assault victim bill of rights This bill creates a sexual assault victim bill of rights. In addition to the rights extended to crime victims under Wisconsin's basic bill of rights for victims and witnesses, this bill adds the following rights for victims of sexual assault, regardless of whether or not they choose to cooperate with a law enforcement agency: the right to be provided with accurate written information about his or her rights as a sexual assault victim; the right to bathe immediately following a sexual assault forensic examination; the right to choose whether or not to cooperate with a law enforcement agency; the right to have any sexual assault kit stored for 50 years or until the end of the prison term of the person convicted of the assault against him or her; and the right to be notified in writing of the results of his or her sexual assault kit analysis, to be notified in writing of the occurrence of analysis of another sexual assault kit in which there is a matching DNA sample collected, and to be notified in writing 60 days prior to the destruction of any evidence obtained in a sexual assault forensic examination.

Sexual assault data Under current law, local law enforcement agencies must report certain crime statistics to the Department of Justice. This bill requires DOJ to collect certain data regarding sexual assault kits collected and tested in Wisconsin in addition to the data currently being collected, and requires DOJ to submit an annual report to the legislature on those sexual assault kits. Under the bill, DOJ must report specific information including the following: the number of sexual assault kits collected and the dates of collection, the number of sexual assault kits submitted to DOJ laboratories for analysis, the number of kits submitted to DOJ laboratories for analysis that have not yet been analyzed and the reason they have not been analyzed, the dates of submission and, if applicable, analysis, and the number of kits not submitted to DOJ for analysis that remain in law enforcement custody and the reason the kits were not submitted. The bill also requires DOJ to publish data on law enforcement agency compliance with DOJ reporting requirements.

This bill also requires DOJ to establish a data bank, to be known as the Wisconsin Sexual Assault Kit Tracking System, for the purpose of providing a victim of sexual assault access to information about the status of any sexual assault kit the victim has provided.

Citizenship of individuals arrested for and convicted of sexual assault Under the bill, if a person under arrest for sexual assault is not a U.S. citizen and is not authorized to be in the United States under federal law, the law enforcement agency must notify U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. In addition, if a person convicted for sexual assault is not a U.S. citizen and is not authorized to be in the United States under federal law, DOJ must notify U.S.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Parental choice programs; exceptions for victims of sexual assault Under the bill, a pupil who is a victim of sexual assault may attend a private school participating in the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program, the Racine Parental Choice Program, or the statewide parental choice program, regardless of whether the pupil meets the standard eligibility requirements to participate in the parental choice program. Additionally, the bill provides an alternative application procedure that allows a pupil who is victim of sexual assault to begin attending a private school under a parental choice program at any time during the school year.

For purposes of these provisions, a pupil is a victim of sexual assault if charges are filed for the sexual assault and the person against whom the charges were filed is a pupil or a school district employee.

Miscellaneous Current law allows a health care provider who conducts an examination to gather evidence regarding a sex offense to apply to DOJ for reimbursement of the examination costs, which include tests for sexually transmitted diseases and medications to prevent or treat a sexually transmitted disease. This bill adds the following as costs that may be reimbursed: 1) if the health care provider believes that pregnancy could be a consequence of the sex offense, the costs of a pregnancy test, to be administered when a pregnancy may be detected and 2) a post-exposure prophylaxis.

The bill also provides authority to a court to require a defendant who is convicted of a crime in which a sexual assault kit was collected to pay the costs for collection of the sexual assault kit and prohibits the sale of at-home sexual assault evidence collection kits.