Kidnapping, Unlawful Imprisonment and Child Enticement in Michigan Sex Offense Cases

Of the three main Michigan statutes about taking or confining a person, only one has a sexual purpose written into it. Kidnapping, MCL 750.349, includes knowingly restraining a person with the intent to engage in criminal sexual penetration or criminal sexual contact with that person.^[1] Unlawful imprisonment, MCL 750.349b, and child enticement, MCL 750.350, contain no sexual-purpose wording.^[2][4]

If a child is missing or anyone is in immediate danger, call 911.^[6] Suspected abuse or neglect of a child can be reported to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services at 855-444-3911 at any time.^[7] The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children can be reached at 1-800-843-5678.^[8]

This page explains each statute, a fourth one that is often overlooked, how they are charged alongside criminal sexual conduct, and what they mean for the registry.

The four statutes side by side

Statute	Core conduct	Sexual purpose in the text?	Maximum penalty
Kidnapping, MCL 750.349	Knowingly restraining another person with one of six listed intents	Yes, in two of the six	Life or any term of years, a fine of $50,000, or both[1][9]
Unlawful imprisonment, MCL 750.349b	Knowingly restraining another person by a weapon or dangerous instrument, by secret confinement, or to facilitate another felony or flight	No	15 years, a fine of $20,000, or both[10][2]
Child enticement, MCL 750.350	Leading, taking, carrying away, decoying or enticing away a child under 14 with intent to detain or conceal the child from a lawful custodian	No	Life or any term of years[4]
Taking or enticing away a minor, MCL 750.13	Taking or enticing away a minor under 16 from a parent or guardian, without their consent, for prostitution, concubinage, sexual intercourse or marriage	Yes	10 years[5]

Kidnapping with intent to commit a sex offense

A person commits kidnapping by knowingly restraining another person with the intent to do one or more of the following:^[9]

• Hold that person for ransom or reward.^[9]
• Use that person as a shield or hostage.^[9]
• Engage in criminal sexual penetration or criminal sexual contact, as prohibited by the criminal sexual conduct chapter, with that person.^[9]
• Take that person outside of Michigan.^[9]
• Hold that person in involuntary servitude.^[9]
• Engage in child sexually abusive activity with that person, if that person is a minor.^[9]

The third and sixth items are the sexual-purpose provisions. The offense turns on the intent that accompanies the restraint. Kidnapping is a felony punishable by imprisonment for life or any term of years, a fine of up to $50,000, or both.^[1]

What "restrain" means

For kidnapping, "restrain" means to restrict a person's movements or to confine the person so as to interfere with that person's liberty without that person's consent or without legal authority.^[9] The statute adds that the restraint "does not have to exist for any particular length of time and may be related or incidental to the commission of other criminal acts."^[3]

According to the benchbook, the Court of Appeals applied it in People v Anderson (2020) to restraint that occurred immediately before a sexual assault.^[3] The common assumption that kidnapping requires moving a person some distance, or holding the person for a long time, does not match the statute's definition.^[3]

Charged together with criminal sexual conduct

The kidnapping statute says it does not prohibit the person from being charged with, convicted of, or sentenced for any other violation of law arising from the same transaction.^[9] In the other direction, sexual penetration that occurs under circumstances involving the commission of another felony is one of the circumstances that makes the offense first-degree criminal sexual conduct.^[11] That circumstance is explained in first-degree CSC, and the assault offenses that stop short of a completed act are in assault with intent to commit CSC.

Unlawful imprisonment: no sexual-purpose element

A person commits unlawful imprisonment by knowingly restraining another person under any of three circumstances:^[2]

1. The person is restrained by means of a weapon or dangerous instrument.^[2]
2. The restrained person was secretly confined.^[2]
3. The person was restrained to facilitate the commission of another felony or to facilitate flight after commission of another felony.^[2]

None of the three mentions sexual penetration, sexual contact or any sexual purpose. People sometimes describe unlawful imprisonment as having a sexual-intent version; that wording belongs to the kidnapping statute, MCL 750.349(1)(c).^[1][2]

Two definitions distinguish this offense from kidnapping. Here, "restrain" means to forcibly restrict a person's movements or to forcibly confine the person, and "secretly confined" means keeping either the confinement or the location of the restrained person a secret.^[2] As with kidnapping, the restraint need not last any particular length of time and may be incidental to other criminal acts.^[2]

Unlawful imprisonment is a felony punishable by up to 15 years, a fine of up to $20,000, or both, and the section does not prohibit charges for any other violation committed while violating it.^[10][2]

Child enticement: a child under 14 and intent to conceal

MCL 750.350 provides that a person shall not maliciously, forcibly, or fraudulently lead, take, carry away, decoy, or entice away any child under the age of 14 years, with the intent to detain or conceal the child from the child's parent or legal guardian, from the persons who have adopted the child, or from any other person having lawful charge of the child.^[4] It is a felony punishable by imprisonment for life or any term of years.^[4] The benchbook notes that no fine is authorized and that the offense is a specific-intent crime.^[12]

Three features are often misunderstood.

• No sexual element. The intent the statute requires is to detain or conceal the child from a lawful custodian. Nothing in its text refers to a sexual purpose.^[4]
• The age line is 14. The child must be under the age of 14 years.^[4]
• Parents are excluded. An adoptive or natural parent of the child shall not be charged with and convicted for a violation of the section.^[4] The benchbook reports that a person whose parental rights were previously terminated does not count as a natural parent, and that a separate parental kidnapping statute applies to the conduct of adoptive and natural parents.^[12]

MCL 750.13: enticing away a minor under 16 for a sexual purpose

The statute that does combine enticement with a sexual purpose is an older one near the front of the Penal Code. A person who takes or entices away a minor under the age of 16 years from the minor's father, mother, guardian, or other person having legal charge of the minor, without their consent, "for the purpose of prostitution, concubinage, sexual intercourse, or marriage" is guilty of a felony punishable by up to 10 years.^[5] Charges under this section may be filed within 25 years after the offense.^[5]

Soliciting or encouraging a child without taking the child anywhere is addressed by a different statute; see accosting a child for immoral purposes. Recruiting, transporting or obtaining a minor for commercial sexual activity is addressed in the trafficking chapter; see human trafficking for commercial sex.

Related statutes

Using a computer. Kidnapping under MCL 750.349 and child enticement under MCL 750.350 are among the listed crimes in the statute on using the internet or a computer to commit a crime, where the victim or intended victim is a minor or is believed to be a minor.^[13] Where the underlying crime is punishable by 15 years or more or by life, the computer offense is a felony punishable by up to 20 years, a fine of up to $20,000, or both.^[14] See using a computer to commit a crime.

Trafficking. A trafficking violation that involves kidnapping or attempted kidnapping is punishable by life or any term of years.^[15]

What do these convictions mean for the registry?

The text of the Sex Offenders Registration Act lists kidnapping committed against a minor and child enticement as Tier III offenses, and unlawful imprisonment where the victim is a minor as a Tier I offense.^[16]

Separately, in People v Lymon, decided July 29, 2024, the Michigan Supreme Court concluded that imposing the 2021 version of the registration act on non-sexual offenders like the defendant in that case is cruel or unusual punishment under the Michigan Constitution, and it affirmed the Court of Appeals judgment that the defendant and other offenders whose crimes lacked a sexual component are entitled to removal from the registry.^[17][18] The defendant had been registered as a Tier I offender because two of his unlawful imprisonment convictions involved minors.^[18] The Court said its decision concerns only non-sexual offenders like that defendant and left for another day whether the act is punishment when applied to other offenders.^[18] This page states the statute's tier text and the Court's holding separately and draws no conclusion about how either applies to any individual conviction. See the court rulings on Michigan's registry and SORA tiers.

Time limits for charges

Offense	Time to file charges
Kidnapping	Within 10 years after the offense; or, if reported to police within 1 year and the person who committed it is unknown, within 10 years after that person is identified[19]
Taking or enticing away a minor under 16, MCL 750.13	Within 25 years after the offense[5]
Offenses with no specific period in MCL 767.24	Within 6 years after the offense[20]

Any period during which the accused did not usually and publicly reside in Michigan is not counted.^[20] The periods for the criminal sexual conduct offenses themselves are different and are set out in the statute of limitations for sex crimes.

What people get wrong

"Unlawful imprisonment has a sexual-intent version." The sexual-purpose language is in MCL 750.349(1)(c), the kidnapping statute.^[1]

"Child enticement means luring a child for sex." MCL 750.350 is about detaining or concealing a child under 14 from a lawful custodian.^[4] The statute with a sexual purpose is MCL 750.13.^[5]

"Kidnapping needs a long confinement." The restraint does not have to exist for any particular length of time.^[3]