In Michigan, the legal age of consent is 16 years old. In the U.S., the age of consent law in each state is the minimum age at which a person is legally old enough to consent to participation in sexual activity. People who are 15 or younger in Michigan are not legally able to consent to sexual activity. A person can be charged with criminal sexual conduct if they participate in sexual activity with a person under the age of 16.
Michigan criminal sexual conduct law is violated when a person who is more than 5 years older than their partner has consensual sexual intercourse with a partner who is under age 16.
The age of consent is 18 if the older person involved is a figure of authority in the life of the child. In addition, sexual relations between teachers in elementary, middle, and high schools and students of any age are illegal.
Sexual relationships with family members, or if consent is given by someone who is under the influence of drugs or alcohol or subject to force or economic coercion, e.g., offer of payment, is also illegal to the age of 18. Forcing or coercing a person into sexual contact is also illegal, of course, if the victim is over the age of 18.
Is There an Exception for Minor Partners?
In Michigan, the crime of criminal sexual conduct, known as “statutory rape” in some other states, is committed when one person who is at least 5 or more years older than a person who is between 13 and 16 has sexual contact with the younger person.
Do Age of Consent Laws Apply to Homosexual Conduct?
In Michigan, the laws that specify what criminal sexual conduct is do not refer to the gender of the participants in the conduct that constitutes the crime. Thus, it would seem that the gender of the respective participants is not a factor.
Other factors, such as the age of the participants, whether the conduct was consensual, the nature of the sexual conduct in which they engage, and other facts surrounding the situation, e.g., whether the participants are blood relatives determines whether the conduct is criminal and what degree of crime it is in Michigan. So, age of consent laws apply to homosexual and heterosexual conduct.
What Is the Penalty for Violating the Age of Consent Law in Michigan?
In Michigan, a person is guilty of 4th-degree criminal sexual conduct if they engage in consensual sexual contact that is not sexual intercourse with a person who is at least 13 years old but less than 16 years old and the perpetrator is 5 or more years older than their partner.
Criminal sexual conduct in the 4th degree in Michigan is a misdemeanor criminal offense. The punishment is a maximum term of imprisonment of 2 years and/or payment of a maximum fine of $500.
This five-year difference in age that is required for criminal sexual conduct is referred to as the “Romeo and Juliet” exception. For example, say one person is 17 years old, and the other person is 15 years old, and their sexual contact is consensual. In that case, their consensual sexual conduct is not criminal because the two parties are within 5 years of age, and one of them is between 13 and 16.
In Michigan, criminal sexual conduct in the 3rd degree is a felony. It involves sexual penetration plus the circumstances mentioned below, e.g, the perpetrator is a member of the victim’s household. The punishment is imprisonment for a maximum of 15 years in state prison. In addition, a person convicted of 3rd-degree criminal sexual conduct must register as a Tier II Offender on Michigan’s Sex Offender Registry, again if the victim was at least 13 years old but not yet 18 years old.
However, the perpetrator who is convicted has to register as a Tier III Offender on Michigan’s Sex Offender Registry if the victim is under 13 years old and the offender was 17 years or older.
A person can be convicted of 1st-degree criminal sexual conduct, which is a felony, if they engage in sexual penetration of another person and any of the following is true:
- That other person is under 13 years old;
- That other person is at least 13 but less than 16 years of age and
- The perpetrator is a member of the victim’s household;
- The perpetrator is a relative of the victim by blood or affinity to the fourth degree;
- The perpetrator is in a position of authority with respect to the victim and uses their authority to coerce the victim to submit;
- The perpetrator is an employee of the school or child-care facility in which the victim is enrolled.
The punishment for 1st-degree criminal sexual conduct is as follows:
- Imprisonment for a maximum term of life. This means that the perpetrator could be imprisoned for any number of years up to and including life in prison. If the victim was under 13 years old, then the minimum prison term cannot be fewer than 25 years.
- Assume the victim is under 13 years, the offender is 18 years old or older, and the offender has a prior conviction for criminal sexual conduct in which the victim was under 13 years of age. In that case, the punishment is life in prison without the possibility of parole.
A person convicted of 1st-degree sexual conduct is legally required to register as a Tier III Offender on Michigan’s Sex Offender Registry unless the victim is between the ages of 13 and 15 and is only 4 or fewer years younger than the victim. In addition to any criminal punishment, it is mandatory for a judge to sentence the perpetrator to lifetime electronic monitoring.
Are There Any Defenses to a Charge of Statutory Rape?
It is not a defense if the perpetrator made an honest mistake and believed the person with whom they had sexual contact was above the age of consent. In Michigan and many other states, having a mistaken belief about the partner’s age is not a valid defense. This is true even if the underage person lied to the perpetrator and told them they were older than 16.
Marriage cannot be a defense as a person in Michigan cannot marry until they are 18 or older without their parent’s consent. So technically, if the perpetrator is married to a person who is between 16 and 18 with the consent of the person’s parents, then marriage would be a defense. Only when a person reaches the age of 18 may they marry without their parent’s consent.
The alibi defense is always available to a person charged with a criminal offense. A person who has been charged can claim that they did not commit the crime and that they were, in fact, in another place at the time the crime was committed. In essence, the person charged claims that they have been misidentified as the perpetrator of the crime. The defense is more likely to succeed if the person has a witness to support their claim that they were elsewhere at the time of the crime.
Do I Need the Help of a Lawyer for My Statutory Rape Charge?
If you have been charged with statutory rape, you want to consult an experienced Michigan criminal defense lawyer. LegalMatch.com can connect you to a lawyer who can protect your rights and identify any defenses that may be available to you.
Your lawyer can work to negotiate a resolution of your charge with the prosecutor or present your defenses at trial if that should become necessary.
