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Information on crimes that are commonly charged in Michigan. If you need legal assistance, please contact a lawyer.

 

Criminal Sexual Conduct (2nd Degree)

Statute: MCL 750.520c
Crime Group: Person
Sentence Class: C
Minimum Sentence: 0 Months
Maximum Sentence1: 180 Months (15 Years)
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 second degree if he or she engages in sexual contact with another person and if any of the following circumstances exist:

  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 contact occurs during the period of that alleged victim’s residency. As used in this subdivision, “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 contact 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 the sexual contact. Force or coercion includes, but is not limited to, any of the circumstances listed in section 520b(1)(f).

  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.

  i. That alleged victim is under the jurisdiction of the department of corrections and the actor is an employee or a contractual employee of, or a volunteer with, the department of corrections who knows that the alleged victim is under the jurisdiction of the department of corrections.

  j. That alleged victim is under the jurisdiction of the department of corrections and the actor is an employee or a contractual employee of, or a volunteer with, a private vendor that operates a youth correctional facility under section 20g of the corrections code of 1953, 1953 PA 232, MCL 791.220g, who knows that the alleged victim is under the jurisdiction of the department of corrections.

  k. That alleged victim is a prisoner or probationer under the jurisdiction of a county for purposes of imprisonment or a work program or other probationary program and the actor is an employee or a contractual employee of or a volunteer with the county or the department of corrections who knows that the alleged victim is under the county’s jurisdiction.

  l. The actor knows or has reason to know that a court has detained the victim in a facility while the victim is awaiting a trial or hearing, or committed the victim to a facility as a result of the victim having been found responsible for committing an act that would be a crime if committed by an adult, and the actor is an employee or contractual employee of, or a volunteer with, the facility in which the victim is detained or to which the victim was committed.

[…]

 

Criminal Sexual Conduct Topics
Discussion:

Criminal Sexual Conduct in the Second Degree is one of four degrees of criminal sexual conduct described in Michigan’s criminal code. It is very similar to CSC 4th degree in that it addresses inappropriate touching and fondling short of penetration. In fact, it includes all of the activities covered by CSC 4th degree, but adds one or more aggravating factors that must be met in addition to the proof of sexual contact. These include any of the following:

  1. The alleged victim is under 13 years old;
     
  2. 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;
     
  3. The sexual contact happened while the defendant was committing any other felony;
     
  4. 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;
     
  5. The defendant had a weapon or led the alleged victim to believe there was a weapon;
     
  6. The defendant caused physical injury to the alleged victim and used force or coercion to accomplish the sexual contact (including threats of retaliation);
     
  7. The defendant caused physical injury to the alleged victim and accomplished the sexual contact 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;
     
  8. The defendant caused physical injury to the alleged victim, and knew/had reason to know that the alleged victim was mentally or physically helpless;
     
  9. 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;
     
  10. The alleged victim was under the jurisdiction of the Department of Corrections and the defendant was an employee or volunteer of the Department of Corrections (or a private company operating a a youth correctional facility) who knew the alleged victim was under that jurisdiction;
     
  11. The defendant knew/had reason to know that the alleged victim was considered a juvenile and was placed in a facility by the court, and the defendant was an employee or volunteer of that facility.

The maximum penalty for a conviction under this statute is 15 years in prison1, and the defendant will also be required to register as a sex offender under either Tier 2 or Tier 3, pursuant to SORA. (See “Sex Offender Registration Act”.)

 

1Maximum sentence shown is for a first-time felony offender. Prior felonies make a defendant liable for “Habitual Offender” (“HO”) sentencing enhancement. Thus, for a defendant with one prior felony or attempted felony (“HO2”), the maximum sentence raises to 270 months (22.5 years); for a defendant with two prior felonies or attempted felonies (“HO3”), the maximum sentence raises to 360 months (30 years); and a defendant with three or more prior felonies or attempted felonies (“HO4”) faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.  

 

 

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