Legal Question in Criminal Law in Wisconsin

Reporting Child Molestation

Many classes of people, including most professionals, are required to report child abuse to the authorities. Failure to report could lead to your being charged as an accomplice, removal of a child from your home (due to failure to protect) and many other legal consequences, to say nothing of the harm to the child which you could prevent by reporting it. In short, reporting is certainly a moral duty, but in many circumstances it can also be a legal one. If you are in this situation, you need to consult with an attorney ASAP. Nobody other than an attorney is entitled to attorney client privilege, meaning that the attorney has a duty to keep what you tell him secret unless you consent to its disclosure. Even this privilege ceases to exist if there is a chance for future harm to be prevented.