Delayed Reports and Old Allegations of Sexual Assault in Michigan

A sexual assault can be charged in Michigan years after it happened because the statute of limitations allows it: first-degree criminal sexual conduct may be charged at any time, and the other degrees have periods measured in years or to a birthday of the alleged victim.^[1][2][3] Nothing in the criminal sexual conduct statutes makes a prompt report a condition of prosecution, and the testimony of a victim need not be corroborated.^[7]

If you are in immediate danger, call 911. The national hotline of the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network is 800-656-HOPE (800-656-4673).^[8] Michigan's VOICES4 hotline has advocates available by call or text at 1-855-864-2374.^[9]

This page explains the time limits, how courts handle evidence about a delay, and what the passage of time changes for both the person who reports and the person accused.

How long charges can be brought

Offense	Time limit for filing charges
First-degree criminal sexual conduct	Any time.[1]
Second- or third-degree, committed on or after April 2, 2025	Within 15 years after the offense or by the alleged victim's 42nd birthday, whichever is later.[2]
Second- or third-degree, committed before April 2, 2025, victim under 18	Under the 2018 version of the statute: within 15 years after the offense or by the alleged victim's 28th birthday, whichever is later.[10]
Second- or third-degree, committed before April 2, 2025, adult victim	Under the 2018 version of the statute: within 10 years after the offense or by the alleged victim's 21st birthday, whichever is later.[10]
Fourth-degree, and assault with intent to commit criminal sexual conduct	Within 10 years after the offense or by the alleged victim's 21st birthday, whichever is later.[3]

Three further rules change the arithmetic.

• Unidentified DNA. If evidence of the offense contains DNA determined to be from an unidentified individual, an indictment against that individual may be found and filed at any time; for a second- or third-degree offense committed on or after April 2, 2025, once the individual is identified the charge may be filed within 15 years after the identification or by the alleged victim's 42nd birthday, whichever is later.^[11][2]
• Time outside Michigan. Any period during which the party charged did not usually and publicly reside within this state is not counted.^[12]
• No revival. An extension or tolling of a limitations period applies only to violations for which the period had not expired when the extension or tolling took effect.^[13]

Because of the last rule, the deadline for a very old allegation depends on each version of the statute in force since the date of the offense.^[13] This page states only the 2018 and current versions. The complete treatment is in Statute of limitations for sex crimes; how an accused person raises an expired period is in Raising the statute of limitations. The degrees are explained in the overview of the four degrees.

What changed on April 2, 2025

As of October 2026, the most recent change is 2024 Public Act 268, effective April 2, 2025.^[2] It set the period for second- and third-degree offenses at 15 years or the alleged victim's 42nd birthday, whichever is later.^[2] The act says its changes "apply to offenses committed on or after the effective date" and "do not apply retroactively to an offense committed before that date."^[2] It did not lengthen the period for fourth-degree offenses or assault with intent.^[3]

Delay is not a legal bar

Nothing in the criminal sexual conduct statutes conditions a prosecution on how quickly the complainant reported. The statutes say the opposite about two older assumptions: the testimony of a victim need not be corroborated, and a victim need not resist the actor.^[7][14]

The corroboration rule has a matching jury instruction, and it is conditional. Jurors may be told it is not necessary that there be evidence other than the complainant's testimony "if that testimony proves guilt beyond a reasonable doubt."^[15] Whether testimony meets that standard is for the jury.^[16] See cases without other witnesses.

How courts handle testimony about delayed disclosure

The Court of Appeals has defined the term: "'Delayed disclosure' refers to sex abuse victims, including children, not immediately informing others of the abuse that transpired."^[17] Michigan law lets a jury hear from an expert on the subject, inside firm limits set by the Michigan Supreme Court.

An expert may	An expert may not
Testify in the prosecution's case in chief about typical and relevant symptoms of child sexual abuse, for the sole purpose of explaining a victim's specific behavior that the jury might incorrectly construe as inconsistent with that of an actual abuse victim.[4]	Testify that the sexual abuse occurred, vouch for the veracity of a victim, or testify whether the defendant is guilty.[5]
Testify that the particular child's behavior is consistent with that of other victims, but only when the defendant raises the issue of the child's post-incident behavior or attacks the child's credibility.[18]	Testify that children overwhelmingly do not lie when reporting sexual abuse.[19]

The model jury instruction keeps the testimony in its lane. Jurors are told that such evidence "cannot be used to show that the crime charged here was committed or that the defendant committed it," and that it is not an opinion that the complainant is telling the truth.^[20]

These decisions arose in child sexual abuse cases. The rules are set out in full in Expert witnesses in child sexual abuse cases.

What delay does to the evidence

Time changes what evidence exists and which rules of evidence apply. The effects run in both directions.

Physical evidence

A hospital's statutory duty to offer a medical forensic examination applies when the person says the assault occurred within the preceding 120 hours.^[21] The statute sets when the hospital must offer the exam; it does not address what medical care is available later. The law does not require physical evidence for a charge: the testimony of a victim need not be corroborated.^[7]

Statements made soon after the event

Some hearsay exceptions depend on timing. An excited utterance is a statement relating to a startling event made while the declarant was under the stress of excitement that it caused.^[22] The Michigan Supreme Court has cautioned trial courts about timing, describing the statement in one sexual assault case as "nearing the outer limits of admissibility under the excited utterance exception."^[23]

A child's first statement

Michigan's tender-years rule requires that the child have made the statement immediately after the incident, or that "any delay is excusable as having been caused by fear or other equally effective circumstance."^[24] So the rule itself contemplates delay and asks the judge to decide whether it is excusable. See A child's first statement: the tender-years rule.

Statements to medical providers

The exception for statements made for medical treatment can be lost with time. In People v Shaw (2016), a complainant's statements to a pediatrician were not admissible under that exception where the examination did not occur until seven years after the last alleged instance of abuse and she had been referred by the police in conjunction with their investigation.^[25] See Statements to doctors and SANE nurses.

Other-acts evidence

Time also matters to evidence of other alleged acts. Under MCL 768.27b, an act occurring more than 10 years before the charged offense is inadmissible unless the court determines that one of four listed circumstances applies, such as a report to law enforcement within 5 years of the assault or the interest of justice.^[26] The statute for other listed offenses against minors, MCL 768.27a, makes such evidence admissible for its bearing on any matter to which it is relevant.^[27] See Other acts of sexual assault and Other acts against minors.

What the passage of time means for the accused

A person accused of something long past faces the same burden rules as anyone else: the prosecutor must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant was actually there when the alleged crime was committed, and the defendant does not have to prove he or she was somewhere else.^[28] A defendant who intends to offer alibi testimony in a felony case must file and serve written notice within the time the statute sets.^[29]

The statute of limitations as a defense

The limitations statute states when an indictment "may be found and filed," and an extension applies only to violations whose period had not already expired when the extension took effect.^[3][13]

Due process and delay before charging

The federal Constitution provides a second, narrower protection. In United States v Lovasco (1977), the U.S. Supreme Court held "that to prosecute a defendant following investigative delay does not deprive him of due process, even if his defense might have been somewhat prejudiced by the lapse of time."^[6] The Court contrasted investigative delay with delay undertaken by the government solely "to gain tactical advantage over the accused."^[6] It also said prosecutors are under no duty to file charges as soon as probable cause exists.^[30]

Lovasco concerns delay by the government between the offense and the charge. Michigan appellate decisions applying a pre-charge delay test were not reviewed for this guide, so no Michigan test is stated here. A complainant's own delay in reporting is a different matter, governed by the limitations periods above.^[1][3]

Other systems keep their own clocks

The criminal limitations period is only one deadline. A civil lawsuit, a workplace claim and a school process each have separate time rules, covered in Civil lawsuits for sexual assault, Deadlines for a harassment claim and Title IX: how a school sexual misconduct case works. An expired criminal period does not answer the civil question, and the reverse is also true.

What people get wrong

• "If you don't report right away, nothing can be done." First-degree criminal sexual conduct may be charged at any time, and the other periods run for years.^[1][3]
• "The statute of limitations is 10 years." That is the figure for fourth-degree offenses and assault with intent (with the 21st-birthday alternative). Second- and third-degree offenses committed on or after April 2, 2025 have a 15-year or 42nd-birthday period.^[3][2]
• "The 2025 law reopened old cases." It applies to offenses committed on or after April 2, 2025 and is not retroactive.^[2]
• "An expert can tell the jury the delay proves it happened." An expert may not testify that the abuse occurred or vouch for the victim.^[5]
• "An old case can't be proved without physical evidence." The testimony of a victim need not be corroborated; the jury decides whether it proves guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.^[7][15]

People deciding whether and how to report can read Your options for reporting. The decision to charge after a report is explained in Who decides whether to charge.