Sexual Assault-Postconviction Relief-Plea Withdrawal

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WI Court of Appeals – District III

Case Name: State of Wisconsin v. Richard A. Bye

Case No.: 2021AP001520-CR

Officials: Stark, P.J., Hruz and Gill, JJ.

Focus: Sexual Assault-Postconviction Relief-Plea Withdrawal

Bye appeals judgments, entered upon his guilty and no-contest pleas, convicting him of fourth-degree sexual assault and intentionally contributing to the delinquency of a child—the second charge as a repeater. He also appeals an order denying his motion for postconviction relief. Bye argues he is entitled to plea withdrawal because the circuit court failed to ascertain that there was a factual basis for Bye’s guilty plea to fourth-degree sexual assault. The absence of Bye’s DNA on Kim’s body does not exonerate him of fourth-degree sexual assault, which requires mere sexual contact. Further, the presence of Bye’s sperm DNA inside one leg of Kim’s pants strongly supports an inference that Bye had some form of sexual contact with Kim, despite his claims to the contrary. Bye alternatively claims that the court erred by denying his motion for sentence modification. Because the appeals court rejected Bye’s challenge to the factual basis for his plea his derivative argument likewise fails

Affirmed.

Decided 08/01/23

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