MADISON, Wis., June 25 (UPI) -- The University of Wisconsin-Madison could be affected by a change in Wisconsin law that makes alcohol an aggravating factor in some sexual assaults.
The change means that victims who are very drunk during a sexual encounter can be judged incapable of giving consent -- triggering a possible second-degree sexual assault charge, the Wisconsin State Journal reported.
The law applies to alcohol-related sexual assaults committed by anyone anywhere in the state -- but the newspaper said it might have particular resonance on hard-drinking college campuses like Madison, which was named the country's No. 1 party school by the Princeton Review last year.
Previously, a victim who had been drinking typically had to be unconscious to be deemed incapable of consenting to sex.
Before the law was changed, Wisconsin had been the only state to exclude alcohol as a potential legal intoxicant in rape cases.
