Harboring a Fugitive Charges

My question involves criminal law for the state of: WI

My Wife and I have a friend/tenant who periodically stays with us / rents a room from us when he needs it. I believe that he has some delinquent child support issues. Today the cops showed up at our house berating my wife and speaking in a derogatory manor. Telling her she was harboring a fugitive and that she was going to jail for 60 days. She very politely asked if they had a warrant for him or a warrant to search our house for him. They responded that they did not but they continued to scold her regarding her responsibility to tell the where he is and "turn" him in. When she replied that she did not know his weareabouts currently they proceeded to go to all of our neighbors and ask them not only about his whereabouts but apparently also fabricated stories about my wife to several of our neighbors.

I am curious on several points:

1. what really is harboring a fugitive and would it apply to someone if they had issues for 5 or 6 months of back child support?
2. do we have any "responsibility" to turn him in when he shows up next?
3. are we within our rights to require them to produce a warrant to search his room in our house?
4. are any of their claims of jail time accurate?
5. is their anything that we can do regarding the slanderous statements that the cops made to our neighbors?


Thank you

You certainly seem to be making the rounds of the internet with this question. Perhaps if you are going to do commit crimes you should consult an attorney rather than internet self help.

The definition in Wisconsin of harboring:

(1) Whoever does either of the following may be penalized as provided in sub. (2m):
(a) With intent to prevent the apprehension of a felon, harbors or aids him or her; or
(b) With intent to prevent the apprehension, prosecution or conviction of a felon, destroys, alters, hides, or disguises physical evidence or places false evidence.


Turning him in is a gray area. Letting him hide out in your house is NOT. You are flirting with a felony.

I would either turn him out on his ass or call the police. Doing nothing is harboring.

You can certainly ask if they have a search warrant, however if there is a warrant for his arrest they may be justified in entering a house where there is reasonable expectation that he may be found.

Felony convictions have jail time.

You've not given enough information about whether the statements are indeed slanderous.