Criminal Case vs. Civil Case for Sexual Assault in Michigan

A criminal case and a civil case about the same sexual assault are separate proceedings with different parties, different standards of proof and different outcomes. As the Michigan Supreme Court put it in a passage quoted in the Sexual Assault Benchbook, "the crime is an offense against the public pursued by the sovereign, while the tort is a private injury which is pursued by the injured party."^[1]

This page compares the two side by side and then explains how the result of one can affect the other. A third kind of court proceeding, the personal protection order, is noted at the end because it borrows features from both.

The comparison at a glance

Question	Criminal case	Civil case
Who brings it	The public, through the prosecuting attorney, whose signed written authorization is needed for a warrant or summons for anything other than a minor offense[1][2]	The injured party[1]
Who decides whether it goes forward	The prosecutor; a crime victim may not determine whether the prosecution should go forward or be dismissed[3]	A person alleging the injury may commence the action; no prosecution or conviction is necessary[6]
What it is called	Criminal sexual conduct, in four degrees[9]	An action to recover damages sustained because of criminal sexual conduct[6]
Standard of proof	Guilt beyond a reasonable doubt[4]	More likely than not[5]
Possible outcome	For example, imprisonment for life or any term of years for first-degree criminal sexual conduct, or not more than 2 years or a fine of not more than $500, or both, for fourth-degree[10][9]	Money damages[6]
Deadline to start	Any time for first-degree; set periods for other degrees[11][12][13]	10 years; for a minor victim, the later of age 28 or three years from discovery[6][14]
Money for the injured person	Restitution, limited to losses that are easily ascertained and measured and directly result from the crime[7]	Damages; restitution already paid is set off[8]

Who is in charge of each case?

A criminal case is pursued by the sovereign rather than by the person harmed.^[1] A judge or district court magistrate "shall not issue a warrant or summons for other than a minor offense unless an authorization in writing allowing the issuance of the warrant or summons is filed," signed by the prosecuting attorney.^[2] The Sexual Assault Benchbook states that a crime victim may not "determine whether [the Penal C]ode has been violated or whether the prosecution of a crime should go forward or be dismissed."^[3]

Victims do have rights within the criminal process. The Michigan Constitution lists, among others, the right to be treated with fairness and respect for their dignity and privacy, the right to be reasonably protected from the accused, the right to attend trial and all other court proceedings the accused has the right to attend, and the right to confer with the prosecution.^[15] Those rights are covered in rights of sexual assault survivors, and the charging decision in who decides to charge a sex crime.

In a civil case the injured person is the plaintiff and decides whether to file. The limitations statute describes the claim as one an individual "may commence," and it states that a criminal prosecution or conviction is not necessary.^[14][6]

What has to be proved, and how firmly?

The standard of proof is a central difference. The benchbook explains that a conviction means a fact-finder determined that the defendant was guilty of the offense beyond a reasonable doubt, while an acquittal means that the fact-finder was unable to determine that the defendant was guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.^[4] The model jury instruction used in criminal sexual conduct trials tells jurors that no evidence other than the complainant's testimony is necessary "if that testimony proves guilt beyond a reasonable doubt."^[16] A jury verdict in a criminal case must be unanimous.^[17]

In a civil case, the model instruction says that for the party with the burden of proof to satisfy it, "the evidence must persuade you that it is more likely than not that the proposition is true."^[5]

The two proceedings therefore answer different questions. An acquittal reflects that guilt was not determined beyond a reasonable doubt.^[4] The civil statute separately provides that a conviction is not necessary for the damages claim.^[6]

What happens at a criminal trial is described in what happens at a CSC trial, and the civil claim in civil lawsuits for sexual assault.

How do the deadlines compare?

Proceeding	Deadline
Criminal charge of first-degree criminal sexual conduct	May be found and filed at any time[11]
Criminal charge of second- or third-degree criminal sexual conduct, for offenses committed on or after April 2, 2025	Within 15 years after the offense or by the alleged victim's forty-second birthday, whichever is later[12]
Criminal charge of fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct or assault with intent to commit criminal sexual conduct	Within 10 years after the offense or by the alleged victim's twenty-first birthday, whichever is later[13]
Civil action for damages sustained because of criminal sexual conduct	10 years[6]
Civil action by a person who was a minor when victimized	The later of age 28, or three years after discovering the injury and its causal relationship to the criminal sexual conduct[14]

The longer criminal periods adopted in 2024 apply to offenses committed on or after April 2, 2025 and do not apply retroactively to earlier offenses.^[12] The criminal rules, including the periods for earlier offenses and the DNA exception, are explained in the statute of limitations for sex crimes.

As of October 4, 2026, bills that would lengthen the civil periods have passed only the Michigan Senate and are not law.^[18]

How does the criminal case affect the civil case?

Convictions and pleas as evidence

The Michigan Rules of Evidence treat three situations differently.

• Conviction after trial or guilty plea. Evidence of a final judgment of conviction falls within a hearsay exception if the judgment was entered after a trial or guilty plea, the conviction was for a crime punishable by death or by imprisonment for more than a year, and the evidence is admitted to prove any fact essential to the judgment.^[19]
• No contest plea. Evidence of a nolo contendere plea is not admissible against the defendant who made the plea, except that it may be admitted in a civil proceeding to defend against a claim asserted by the person who entered the plea.^[20]
• Withdrawn or vacated guilty plea. A guilty plea that was later withdrawn or vacated is not admissible against the defendant who made it.^[20]

Plea types and plea negotiations are covered in plea bargains in CSC cases and the sister guide's guilty vs. no contest plea.

Restitution and damages

A sentencing court can order restitution, but the benchbook quotes the Court of Appeals in People v Tyler that restitution "is not a substitute for civil damages, but encompasses only those losses which are easily ascertained and measured and are a direct result of a defendant's criminal acts."^[7] By statute, any amount paid to a victim under an order of restitution shall be set off against any amount later recovered as compensatory damages in any federal or state civil proceeding.^[8]

The state's crime victim compensation program is a third source, with an aggregate award that must not exceed $45,000 per claimant.^[21] See crime victim compensation for sexual assault.

Double jeopardy

The federal and Michigan double jeopardy provisions protect against a second prosecution for the same offense after acquittal, a second prosecution for the same offense after conviction, and multiple punishments for the same offense.^[22] Those protections are stated in terms of prosecution and punishment; the civil damages statute, by its own words, does not depend on how a prosecution ended.^[22][6]

What about both cases running at once?

Because the civil claim does not depend on whether a prosecution was brought, a civil case and a criminal case about the same events can be pending together.^[6] The sources behind this guide do not address whether a civil case is paused while a criminal case is pending, or how a defendant's right against self-incrimination works in a civil case. This page does not attempt to answer those questions. A related discussion of what one set of federal rules does and does not say is in a Title IX case and a criminal case at once.

Where a personal protection order fits

A personal protection order is an injunctive order issued by the family division of circuit court, and a violation can be punished as criminal contempt.^[23][24] A person who has been subjected to, threatened with, or placed in reasonable apprehension of sexual assault may seek one regardless of whether the respondent has been charged with or convicted of sexual assault.^[25] If the order is violated, a respondent 17 or older is subject to the court's criminal contempt powers and, if found guilty, must be imprisoned for not more than 93 days and may be fined not more than $500.^[24]

The court rule on contempt shows both standards in one sentence: the petitioner or the prosecuting attorney has the burden of proving guilt of criminal contempt beyond a reasonable doubt and guilt of civil contempt by clear and convincing evidence.^[24] See personal protection orders for sexual assault.

What people get wrong

"The victim can drop the charges." The decision whether a prosecution goes forward belongs to the prosecutor.^[3]

"If there is no conviction, there is no civil case." The damages statute says a prosecution or conviction is not necessary.^[6]

"A no contest plea protects the defendant completely in a later lawsuit." The plea itself is not admissible against the defendant, subject to one exception, but that is a rule about evidence of the plea.^[20] A conviction after trial or guilty plea for a crime punishable by more than a year is treated differently.^[19]

"Restitution means the victim cannot sue." Restitution is not a substitute for civil damages; it is set off against them.^[7][8]

For the order of events in a prosecution, see the timeline of a felony CSC case.