What "Sexual Misconduct" Means Under Michigan Law

"Sexual misconduct" is not a single legal term in Michigan. It is an umbrella phrase that people use for conduct handled by at least four different systems, each with its own definitions: the criminal law, which calls its core offenses "criminal sexual conduct"; civil-rights law, which uses "sexual harassment"; school and college rules under Title IX; and professional licensing rules.^[1][2][3][4]

If you are in danger, call 911. The National Sexual Assault Hotline is free, confidential and open 24/7: call 800-656-HOPE (4673) or text HOPE to 64673.^[6] Michigan's VOICES4 hotline takes calls and texts at 855-864-2374.^[7]

This page sorts the vocabulary, shows which words belong to which system, and points to the guide in this library that covers each one in depth.

Which words are criminal-law terms?

Michigan's statutes do not use "rape" or "sexual assault" as the name of the crime. Sexual assault is prosecuted as criminal sexual conduct (CSC) under the Criminal Sexual Conduct Act, MCL 750.520a and the sections that follow.^[8]

The Act creates six substantive offenses: CSC in the first, second, third and fourth degree, assault with intent to commit CSC involving penetration, and assault with intent to commit CSC in the second degree.^[9] First- and third-degree CSC require "sexual penetration"; second- and fourth-degree CSC require "sexual contact".^[10] How the degrees fit together is explained in the overview of the four degrees, and the everyday words are mapped to the statutes in Is "rape" a legal term in Michigan?

In the CSC statutes, "actor" means a person accused of criminal sexual conduct and "victim" means the person alleging to have been subjected to it.^[11] Both words are defined by the accusation, so their use in a charging document is not a finding that anything has been proved.

Other sex-related offenses sit outside the CSC Act, in other parts of the Penal Code and in federal law. This library covers them one by one, including indecent exposure, child sexually abusive material, nonconsensual intimate images and federal sex crimes.

Which words belong to civil-rights, school and licensing rules?

Sexual harassment at work and in other settings

"Sexual harassment" is a civil-rights term. The Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act says that discrimination because of sex includes sexual harassment, and defines it as "unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct or communication of a sexual nature" under three listed conditions.^[2] Those conditions cover submission being made a term or condition of employment, public accommodations or services, education or housing; submission or rejection being used as a factor in decisions; and conduct that substantially interferes with those things or creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive environment.^[12]

The Act applies to an employer with 1 or more employees.^[13] The details are in workplace sexual harassment law, and the question of when harassment also amounts to an offense is taken up in Is sexual harassment a crime?

Title IX at schools and colleges

Title IX provides that no person shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from, denied the benefits of, or subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.^[14] Its regulations define "sexual harassment" in three parts: an employee conditioning an aid, benefit or service on unwelcome sexual conduct; unwelcome conduct a reasonable person would find so severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive that it effectively denies equal access; and sexual assault, dating violence, domestic violence or stalking as defined in federal statutes.^[3]

The regulations do not require schools to adopt any particular definition of consent, so each school's policy supplies its own.^[3] A school must state whether it decides responsibility by the preponderance of the evidence or by clear and convincing evidence.^[15] See the Title IX process and K-12 school discipline.

Professional licensing

For Michigan health professionals, the grounds for discipline include conduct with a patient "that is sexual or may reasonably be interpreted as sexual", expressly "including conduct initiated by a patient or to which the patient consents".^[4] For school hiring disclosures, "unprofessional conduct" includes misconduct, immorality, moral turpitude or inappropriate behavior involving a minor, and the statute says a criminal conviction is not an essential element.^[16] These systems are covered in licensing board investigations and sex-offense convictions and professional licenses.

The terms side by side

Term	Where it is defined	Who decides
Criminal sexual conduct (four degrees)	Michigan Penal Code, MCL 750.520b to 750.520e[1]	A criminal court; the prosecuting attorney authorizes the charge[17]
Sexual assault (for a personal protection order)	MCL 600.2950a, by reference to the CSC statutes[18]	A court hearing a PPO petition; no charge or conviction is needed[19]
Sexual harassment (civil rights)	Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act, MCL 37.2103(k)[2]	Civil-rights agencies and civil courts
Sexual harassment (Title IX)	34 CFR 106.30(a)[3]	The school, under the evidence standard its policy states[15]
Sexual conduct with a patient (health licensing)	MCL 333.16221(e)(vi)[4]	The licensing system
Unprofessional conduct (school employment)	MCL 380.1230b(8)(b)[16]	School employers; no conviction needed[16]

Can one allegation run through several systems at once?

Yes. The Michigan Supreme Court's words, quoted in the judges' benchbook, are that "the same act may constitute both a crime and a tort": the crime is an offense against the public pursued by the state, while the tort is a private injury pursued by the injured party.^[5]

The systems do not depend on one another in the way people often assume:

• Civil lawsuit. A person can sue for damages caused by criminal sexual conduct even if no criminal case was brought, or if one was brought and did not end in a conviction.^[20] A civil jury decides whether a proposition is more likely than not true.^[21] See civil lawsuits for sexual assault and criminal case vs. civil case.
• Protection order. A person who has been subjected to, threatened with, or placed in reasonable apprehension of sexual assault may petition for a personal protection order (PPO) regardless of whether the other person has been charged or convicted.^[19] See sexual assault PPOs.
• School process. A school's Title IX process may be delayed temporarily for good cause, and concurrent law enforcement activity is an example of good cause.^[22] A Michigan school board may also suspend or expel a pupil who commits criminal sexual conduct against another pupil in the same district if, in its judgment, the interest of the school is served.^[23] See Title IX and criminal charges at the same time.
• Licensing. A conviction of first-, second- or third-degree CSC is a ground for health-license discipline, and a certified copy of the court record is conclusive evidence of the conviction.^[24] A certified teacher's conviction of CSC in any degree leads to summary suspension of the teaching certificate, followed by an opportunity for a hearing.^[25]

In a criminal case, the decision to charge is not the complaining witness's to make. A judge or magistrate may not issue a warrant for anything other than a minor offense without written authorization signed by the prosecuting attorney.^[17] That process is described in who decides to charge a sex crime.

What people get wrong

"No conviction means nothing else can happen." Each system runs on its own rules. The civil damages statute, the PPO statute and the school-employment statute each say in their own text that a criminal conviction is not needed.^[20][19][16]

"If the patient or client agreed, it is not misconduct." Health-licensing law reaches sexual conduct with a patient even where the patient initiated it or consented.^[4] In the criminal law, the fourth-degree CSC statute says that the consent of the victim is not a defense where a mental health professional has sexual contact with a client or patient during the professional relationship or within 2 years after it.^[26] See sexual conduct by health and mental health professionals.

"Harassment and assault are the same charge." They are defined in different laws. Criminal sexual conduct turns on sexual penetration or sexual contact under listed circumstances, while sexual harassment under the civil-rights statute turns on unwelcome sexual conduct or communication under listed conditions.^[10][2]

Where to go next in this library

For the criminal law, start with the CSC overview and the penalties chart. People who have been assaulted can go to options for reporting sexual assault and where to get help in West Michigan. People who have been accused can go to first steps after an accusation. Registry questions begin at the sex offender registry explained.