Common Crimes
Information on crimes that are commonly charged in Michigan. If you need legal assistance, please contact a lawyer.
Criminal Sexual Conduct (1st Degree)
Statute: MCL 750.520b
Crime Group: Person
Sentence Class: A
Minimum Sentence: Varies
Maximum Sentence: Life in Prison
Maximum Fine: Not Specified
Jury Instructions: MCJI2d. 20.1, 20.2, 20.12, 20.13
Sex Offender Registration Required: Yes
Statutory Language:
(1) A person is guilty of criminal sexual conduct in the first degree if he or she engages in sexual penetration with another person and if any of the following circumstances exists:
a. That alleged victim is under 13 years of age.
b. That alleged victim is at least 13 but less than 16 years of age and any of the following:
i. The actor is a member of the same household as the victim.
ii. The actor is related by blood or affinity to the fourth degree to the victim.
iii. The actor is in a position of authority over the victim and the actor used this authority to coerce the victim to submit.
iv. The actor is a teacher, substitute teacher, or administrator of the public school, nonpublic school, school district, or intermediate school district in which that alleged victim is enrolled.
v. The actor is an employee or a contractual service provider of the public school, nonpublic school, school district, or intermediate school district in which that alleged victim is enrolled, or is a volunteer who is not a student in any public school or nonpublic school, or is an employee of this state or of a local unit of government of this state or of the United States assigned to provide any service to that public school, nonpublic school, school district, or intermediate school district, and the actor uses his or her employee, contractual, or volunteer status to gain access to, or to establish a relationship with, that alleged victim.
vi. The actor is an employee, contractual service provider, or volunteer of a child care organization, or a person licensed to operate a foster family home or a foster family group home in which that alleged victim is a resident, and the sexual penetration occurs during the period of that alleged victim's residency. As used in this subparagraph, "child care organization", "foster family home", and "foster family group home" mean those terms as defined in section 1 of 1973 PA 116, MCL 722.111..
c. Sexual penetration occurs under circumstances involving the commission of any other felony.
d. The actor is aided or abetted by 1 or more alleged victims and either of the following circumstances exists:
i. The actor knows or has reason to know that the victim is mentally incapable, mentally incapacitated, or physically helpless.:
ii. The actor uses force or coercion to accomplish the sexual contact. Force or coercion includes, but is not limited to, any of the circumstances listed in section 520b(1)(f).
e. The actor is armed with a weapon, or any article used or fashioned in a manner to lead a person to reasonably believe it to be a weapon.
f. The actor causes personal injury to the victim and force or coercion is used to accomplish sexual penetration. Force or coercion includes, but is not limited to, any of the following circumstances:
i. When the actor overcomes the victim through the actual application of physical force or physical violence.
ii. When the actor coerces the victim to submit by threatening to use force or violence on the victim, and the victim believes that the actor has the present ability to execute these threats.
iii. When the actor coerces the victim to submit by threatening to retaliate in the future against the victim, or any alleged victim, and the victim believes that the actor has the ability to execute this threat. As used in this subdivision, “to retaliate” includes threats of physical punishment, kidnapping, or extortion.
iv. When the actor engages in the medical treatment or examination of the victim in a manner or for purposes that are medically recognized as unethical or unacceptable.
v. When the actor, through concealment or by the element of surprise, is able to overcome the victim.
g. The actor causes personal injury to the victim and the actor knows or has reason to know that the victim is mentally incapable, mentally incapacitated, or physically helpless.
h. That alleged victim is mentally incapable, mentally disabled, mentally incapacitated, or physically helpless, and any of the following:
i. The actor is related to the victim by blood or affinity to the fourth degree.
ii. The actor is in a position of authority over the victim and used this authority to coerce the victim to submit.
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Criminal Sexual Conduct Topics |
Criminal Sexual Conduct in the 1st Degree is the most serious of Michigan’s criminal sexual conduct offenses. It is essentially the same as CSC 3rd Degree—that is, it involves penetration—but includes aggravating factors that make the circumstances more serious. The factors are largely the same as those for CSC 2nd Degree, but contain no explicit reference to the alleged victim being under the jurisdiction of the Department of Corrections:
- The alleged victim is under 13 years old;
- The alleged victim is between 13 and 16 years old and is either related by blood to the defendant, lives with the defendant, the defendant is in a position of authority over the alleged victim and uses that authority to convince the alleged victim to submit, or the defendant is an employee of (or contractor or volunteer at) the alleged victim’s school or childcare facility;
- The sexual penetration happened while the defendant was committing any other felony;
- The defendant had someone help him/her and either used force or coercion or knew/had reason to know that the alleged victim was mentally or physically helpless;
- The defendant had a weapon or led the alleged victim to believe there was a weapon;
- The defendant caused physical injury to the alleged victim and used force or coercion to accomplish the penetration (including threats of retaliation);
- The defendant caused physical injury to the alleged victim and accomplished the penetration by engaging in the medical treatment or examination of the victim in a manner or for purposes that are medically recognized as unethical or unacceptable, or through concealment or by the element of surprise;
- The defendant caused physical injury to the alleged victim, and knew/had reason to know that the alleged victim was mentally or physically helpless;
- The alleged victim was mentally or physically helpless and is either related by blood to the defendant, lives with the defendant, or was convinced to submit to the defendant due to the defendant’s position of authority over the alleged victim.
The penalty for this charge if convicted varies depending on the age of the defendant and the alleged victim. Under most circumstances, the defendant may be sentenced to any term of years, up to life in prison. If the defendant is 17 years old or older and the alleged victim is under 13 years old, the maximum penalty remains imprisonment for life or any term of years, but with a 25-year minimum. If a defendant 18 years old or older with a prior CSC conviction commits the violation against a person under 13 years old, the maximum penalty is life in prison without the possibility of parole. Defendants convicted under this statute are required to register as sexual offenders for life under Tier 3, pursuant to SORA. (See “Sex Offender Registration Act”.)
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