Accosting, Enticing or Soliciting a Child for Immoral Purposes in Michigan (MCL 750.145a)

Under MCL 750.145a, it is a felony in Michigan to accost, entice or solicit a child under 16, or a person believed to be under 16, with the intent to induce or force that child to commit an immoral act, to submit to sexual intercourse or an act of gross indecency, or to any other act of depravity or delinquency. It is also a felony to encourage a child under 16 to engage in any of those acts.^[1] The maximum penalty is 4 years in prison, a fine of up to $4,000, or both.^[1]

If a child is in immediate danger, call 911. RAINN's National Sexual Assault Hotline is free, confidential and open 24/7 at 800-656-HOPE (4673).^[6] Michigan's VOICES4 hotline takes calls and texts at 855-864-2374.^[7] Suspected online enticement of a child can be reported to the CyberTipline run by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.^[8]

This page explains the elements of the offense, the repeat-offense statute, how the Michigan Supreme Court and Court of Appeals have read the law, and which other charges can be filed with it.

What does MCL 750.145a prohibit?

The statute is a single long sentence. Broken into parts, it reaches a person who:

• accosts, entices, or solicits a child less than 16 years of age, or an individual whom the person believes is a child less than 16,^[1]
• with the intent to induce or force that child or individual to commit an immoral act, to submit to an act of sexual intercourse or an act of gross indecency, or to any other act of depravity or delinquency;^[1]
• or who encourages a child less than 16, or an individual believed to be less than 16, to engage in any of those acts.^[1]

The statute does not define "immoral act," "depravity" or "delinquency." In People v Gaines, the Court of Appeals rejected arguments that the statute was unconstitutionally vague or overbroad in a case where the defendant asked 13- and 14-year-old girls for nude photographs of themselves, saying that no reasonable person would have to guess whether that was immoral conduct under the statute.^[9]

The age line here is 16, which is different from the under-18 line that applies to images under the child sexually abusive material statute.^[1][10]

Two ways to commit the offense, with different intent

In People v Kowalski, the Michigan Supreme Court read the statute as describing two alternative ways of committing the crime.^[11]

Prong	Conduct	Mental state the prosecution must show
Accost, entice or solicit	Accosting, enticing or soliciting the child or the person believed to be a child	A specific intent to induce or force the child to commit a proscribed act[11]
Encourage	Encouraging the child to engage in a proscribed act	A general criminal intent: the intent to do the act of encouraging[11]

In the Court's words, the "encourages" prong "envisions a mens rea consistent with a general criminal intent," while for acts of accosting, enticing or soliciting "the statute requires the prosecution to demonstrate a specific intent to induce or force the child to commit proscribed acts."^[11]

Does the child have to agree, or even know?

No. The Court of Appeals held in People v Darga (2023) that MCL 750.145a "requires proof that a defendant had the 'intent to induce or force' a child to commit an immoral act, but it does not require that a defendant succeed (or even that the intended target is aware)."^[3] The offense is complete when the accosting, enticing, soliciting or encouraging occurs with the required intent; no meeting and no sexual act is an element.^[1][3]

Knowledge of age and the "believed to be a child" wording

Two phrases in the statute deal with age. First, it applies "regardless of whether the person knows the individual is a child or knows the actual age of the child."^[1] Second, it applies where the target is "an individual whom he or she believes is a child less than 16 years of age."^[1]

The second phrase is the wording that reaches a case in which the person on the other end of a conversation was in fact an adult, such as an undercover officer.^[1] The legal basis for those cases, and the entrapment test a judge applies, are explained in Online sting operations and The entrapment defense in sex stings. Michigan's general rule on age mistakes in sex cases is covered in Mistake of age is not a defense.

Penalties

Offense	Classification	Maximum
Accosting, enticing or soliciting a child (MCL 750.145a)	Felony	4 years, a fine of up to $4,000, or both[1]
Same offense with 1 or more prior convictions (MCL 750.145b)	Felony	10 years, a fine of up to $10,000, or both[2]

The figures in the table are upper limits. How a judge arrives at a sentence is explained in How sentencing guidelines work.

How the repeat-offense statute works

Under MCL 750.145b, a "prior conviction" means a violation of MCL 750.145a or a violation of a law of another state substantially corresponding to it.^[2] If the prosecuting attorney intends to seek the enhanced sentence, the complaint and information must include a statement listing the prior conviction or convictions, and the court, without a jury, decides whether the prior conviction exists.^[2]

Other charges that can be filed with accosting

Accosting can be one of several counts in a case. Each statute below has its own elements.

• Use of a computer or the internet. MCL 750.145d makes it a separate crime to use the internet or a computer to communicate with any person for the purpose of committing, attempting, conspiring to commit, or soliciting another to commit conduct proscribed under MCL 750.145a, where the victim or intended victim is a minor or is believed to be a minor.^[12] Because accosting is a felony with a 4-year maximum, it falls in the tier of that statute that carries up to 10 years.^[1][13] See Using a computer to commit a crime.
• Child sexually abusive activity. Persuading, inducing, enticing or coercing a child to engage in a listed sexual act to produce material, or attempting or preparing to arrange for such activity, is charged under MCL 750.145c(2).^[14]
• Disseminating sexually explicit matter to a minor. Knowingly disseminating to a minor sexually explicit material that is harmful to minors is a felony under MCL 722.675.^[15][16] See Disseminating sexually explicit matter to minors.
• Federal enticement. Using a facility of interstate commerce to persuade, induce, entice or coerce a person under 18 to engage in criminal sexual activity is a federal crime punishable by a fine and imprisonment for not less than 10 years or for life.^[17] See Federal enticement of a minor.

Registration and other consequences

A violation of MCL 750.145a or 750.145b is a Tier II offense under the Sex Offenders Registration Act.^[4] A Tier II offender must comply with the act for 25 years.^[5] A Tier II offender who is later convicted of a Tier I or Tier II offense becomes a Tier III offender.^[18] The tiers, reporting duties and the court decisions that have limited the registry are explained in SORA tiers and The Michigan sex offender registry explained.

How long does the state have to charge it?

Michigan's limitations statute gives certain offenses their own filing periods and provides that all other charges may be filed within 6 years after the offense; any period during which the accused did not usually and publicly reside in Michigan is not counted.^[19] The offense-by-offense rules are set out in Statute of limitations for sex crimes.

What people get wrong

"Nothing happened, so there is no crime." The statute punishes the solicitation or encouragement itself when it is done with the required intent. Success is not an element.^[3]

"Michigan has a crime called grooming." The Penal Code sections reviewed for this guide contain no separate offense by that name. Conduct described that way is prosecuted, where the elements are met, under statutes such as MCL 750.145a.^[1]

"It only applies to strangers." Nothing in the text limits the offense by the relationship between the accused and the child; the elements are the act, the intent and the child's age or believed age.^[1]

Parents who have learned that an adult has been soliciting their child can find reporting routes in When a child discloses sexual abuse and Options for reporting. A person who has been contacted by police about an allegation can read When a detective calls.