"Statutory Rape" in Michigan: Age-Based Criminal Sexual Conduct Charges

Michigan has no offense called "statutory rape." Its statutes do not use "rape" as the name of a crime at all; sexual offenses are prosecuted as criminal sexual conduct (CSC).^[1] What people call statutory rape is a CSC charge in which the prosecutor proves a sexual act and the other person's age and, where that person is under 16, consent is not a defense.^[6] The degree depends on the act, the age group, and whether a listed relationship exists.

If a child or teenager is in immediate danger, call 911.^[10] The National Sexual Assault Hotline is free, confidential and open 24/7 at 800-656-HOPE (4673).^[11] Michigan's VOICES4 hotline takes calls and texts at 855-864-2374.^[12]

This page sets out every age-based provision in the four CSC degrees, then explains the rules that apply to all of them: no consent defense, no mistake-of-age defense, and no close-in-age defense to the charge. It describes what the statutes make a crime and how courts have read them. It is not legal advice, and nothing on it is a statement that any conduct is lawful.

The age-based provisions, by age of the other person

First- and third-degree CSC involve sexual penetration; second- and fourth-degree CSC involve sexual contact.^[2] Both terms are defined by statute; see sexual penetration vs. sexual contact. The penalties shown are the maximums stated in each statute.

Age of the other person	Act and circumstance	Offense	Statutory penalty
Under 13	Sexual penetration; no other circumstance needed	First-degree CSC[3]	Life or any term of years, with a 25-year minimum if the actor is 17 or older, plus lifetime electronic monitoring[13][14][15]
Under 13	Sexual contact; no other circumstance needed	Second-degree CSC[16]	Up to 15 years; lifetime electronic monitoring if the actor is 17 or older[17][18]
13, 14 or 15	Sexual penetration; no other circumstance. No age-gap condition and no minimum age for the accused	Third-degree CSC[4]	Up to 15 years[19]
13, 14 or 15	Sexual penetration, and the actor is a member of the same household; is related by blood or affinity to the fourth degree; is in a position of authority and used it to coerce submission; or is a teacher, substitute teacher or administrator of the school or district where the person is enrolled	First-degree CSC[20]	Life or any term of years, plus lifetime electronic monitoring[13][15]
13, 14 or 15	Sexual penetration, and the actor is another school employee, a contractual service provider, a volunteer who is not a student, or an assigned government employee, who used that status to gain access to or establish a relationship with the person	First-degree CSC[21]	Life or any term of years, plus lifetime electronic monitoring[13][15]
13, 14 or 15	Sexual penetration during the person's residency, and the actor is an employee, contractual service provider or volunteer of the child care organization, or the licensed operator of the foster home, where the person lives	First-degree CSC[22]	Life or any term of years, plus lifetime electronic monitoring[13][15]
13, 14 or 15	Sexual contact, and the actor is 5 or more years older	Fourth-degree CSC[5]	Up to 2 years, a fine of up to $500, or both[23]
13, 14 or 15	Sexual contact, and one of the six relationships listed above for penetration exists (household, relative to the fourth degree, authority used to coerce, teacher, other school staff using their status, child care or foster care provider)	Second-degree CSC[24][25]	Up to 15 years[17]
16 or 17, and a student	Sexual penetration, and the actor is a teacher, substitute teacher or administrator of that school or district. Does not apply if the student is emancipated	Third-degree CSC[26]	Up to 15 years[19]
16 or 17, and a student	Sexual penetration, and the actor is another school employee, contractual service provider, non-student volunteer or assigned government employee who uses that status to gain access to or establish a relationship with the student	Third-degree CSC[27]	Up to 15 years[19]
16 or 17, and a student	Sexual contact, with the same two groups of school actors and the same conditions	Fourth-degree CSC[28][29]	Up to 2 years, a fine of up to $500, or both[23]
At least 16 but under 26, and receiving special education services	Sexual penetration, and the actor is a teacher, substitute teacher, administrator, employee or contractual service provider of the school or district providing the services (unless both are at least 18 and were lawfully married to each other), or a non-student volunteer or assigned government employee who uses that status	Third-degree CSC[30][31]	Up to 15 years[19]
At least 16 but under 26, and receiving special education services	Sexual contact, with the same actors and conditions	Fourth-degree CSC[32]	Up to 2 years, a fine of up to $500, or both[23]
16 or older, and a resident of a child care organization or foster home	Sexual penetration during the residency, and the actor is an employee, contractual service provider or volunteer of the organization or the licensed operator of the home	Third-degree CSC[33]	Up to 15 years[19]
16 or older, and a resident of a child care organization or foster home	Sexual contact during the residency, with the same actors	Fourth-degree CSC[34]	Up to 2 years, a fine of up to $500, or both[23]

The table covers only provisions that turn on age. Every other CSC provision still applies to a person of any age, including the provisions on force or coercion, on incapacity, and on relatives.^[35][36] Those are explained in force or coercion, intoxication, incapacity and consent and CSC involving relatives and household members.

What the prosecutor has to prove

In an age-only case the elements are the sexual act and the age. The benchbook used by Michigan judges, citing the Michigan Supreme Court's decision in People v Cash, states that a conviction of third-degree CSC for penetration with a person between 13 and 16 requires nothing more than that the person's age be between 13 and 16.^[37] Because a person under 16 is legally incapable of consenting to a sexual act, consent is inapplicable to all CSC offenses involving a person under 16.^[6]

Age is counted by the birthday rule: a person attains a given age on the anniversary date of birth.^[38]

The 5-year gap belongs to fourth-degree CSC only

The only place the CSC statutes make the age difference between the two people an element is MCL 750.520e(1)(a): sexual contact with a person who is at least 13 but less than 16, where the actor is 5 or more years older.^[5] It does not apply to sexual penetration.^[8]

The age gap also does not limit the other provisions. The second-degree provisions for household members, relatives, persons in authority and school or care staff have no age-gap condition.^[24][25] Neither do the fourth-degree provisions on force or coercion, incapacity and relatives.^[39][40][41]

Is there a close-in-age defense?

No. The Court of Appeals has said that if the Legislature had intended courts to consider the age differential between the two people, it could have included that consideration in the CSC statutes.^[8] The same court has said the third-degree statute "does not exclude any class of offenders on the basis of age," and that a minor engaged in a consensual sexual act with another minor within the same age range "can be regarded as an offender subject to prosecution."^[42]

How a case against a minor proceeds is a separate subject; see when the accused is a juvenile.

Mistake of age and marriage

Michigan does not recognize a reasonable-mistake-of-age defense. In People v Cash the defendant was convicted of third-degree CSC for intercourse with a 15-year-old who had told him she was 17.^[7] The benchbook used by Michigan judges describes the age offenses as strict liability crimes.^[43] See mistake of age is not a defense.

The under-16 provisions contain no marriage exception. A person may be charged and convicted even though the victim is his or her legal spouse, and words that had barred a charge based solely on a spouse being under the age of 16 were removed effective September 27, 2023.^[44][45]

Sentencing rules tied to age

• First-degree CSC committed by a person 17 or older against a person under 13 carries a minimum of 25 years.^[14] That figure is a floor, not a cap on the sentence.^[46]
• A person 18 or older who commits first-degree CSC against a child under 13, and who has a prior conviction for a listed CSC offense against a child under 13, faces life without the possibility of parole.^[47]
• Probation is not available for first- or third-degree CSC.^[48]

Complete sentence tables are in the CSC penalties chart and mandatory minimum sentences for CSC.

Registration: where a close-in-age rule does exist

The Sex Offenders Registration Act treats close-in-age cases differently from the criminal statutes. First- and third-degree CSC are Tier III offenses, but not if the court determines that the victim consented to the conduct, was at least 13 but less than 16 at the time, and the individual is not more than 4 years older than the victim.^[9] If the prosecutor disputes the exception, the individual has the burden of proving it by a preponderance of the evidence.^[49]

A person already registered can petition on the same grounds, and the court must grant a properly filed petition if it makes those findings.^[50] The 4-year limit is strict: the Court of Appeals has held that a petitioner even one day past it is ineligible.^[51] Fourth-degree and second-degree CSC against a person aged 13 to 17 are Tier II offenses.^[52]

These rules are covered in Michigan's "Romeo and Juliet" provisions, registry tiers and petitions for removal from the registry.

How long charges can be brought

First-degree CSC may be charged at any time.^[53] For second- or third-degree CSC committed on or after April 2, 2025, charges may be filed within 15 years after the offense or by the alleged victim's forty-second birthday, whichever is later.^[54] For fourth-degree CSC the period is 10 years after the offense or the alleged victim's twenty-first birthday, whichever is later.^[55] Older offenses are governed by earlier versions of the statute; see the statute of limitations for sex crimes.

What people get wrong

"A 5-year age gap is required." Only for fourth-degree sexual contact with a person aged 13 to 15.^[5]

"Michigan has a Romeo and Juliet law." Not as a defense to the charge; the close-in-age rule is in the registration statute.^[8][9]

"It is a lesser crime if the other person agreed." Agreement does not change the degree. Consent is inapplicable where the person is under 16.^[6]

"Sixteen ends the age-based provisions." The school, special education and residential-care provisions apply to people 16 and older.^[56] See age of consent in Michigan and teacher and school-employee offenses.