Sex Crimes

What is the Punishment for Michigan Criminal Sexual Conduct?

Published on: May 13, 2020 | by Patrick Barone

MI sex crimes lawyer Patrick Barone explains sodomy laws. Michigan Criminal Sexual Conduct, commonly referred to as CSC, is the unlawful sexual assault or touching or penetration of another. In Michigan, there are four separate offenses each defined by the acts of behaviors of the alleged offender.

Each level of offense is called a “degree.” In order to support an allegation, the state must demonstrate a range of factors or legal ideas that are present in each degree of the charge. Such variables may include the age of the victim, the relationship of the perpetrator to the victim, and whether force or coercion was used in the commission of the alleged crime.

Punishment for Michigan Criminal Sexual Conduct

What Happens When Arrested for a Sex Crime?

Published on: May 11, 2020 | by Patrick Barone

When a person is arrested for criminal sexual conduct, they are taken to jail to be fingerprinted, booked, and in most jurisdictions, held until arraignment. The person may, depending on whether the jail officers feel like it, be given a phone call. Next, that person will be taken in front of a judge to be arraigned. At the arraignment, that person will have an opportunity to plead guilty or not guilty and the judge will order bond conditions.

Bond conditions typically include an amount of money the person must pay to be released, no contact with the accuser, and no travel outside the state. The amount of cash bond someone must pay is a significant issue. The bond amount for the most serious sex crimes can be in the tens and thousands of dollars. It can be the difference between never spending more than a few hours in jail versus spending months in jail waiting for a trial because their client or client’s family could not pay the bond.

If a good sex crimes lawyer is at the arraignment the lawyer will try to convince the judge that a minimal bond amount is appropriate and therefore give their client a better chance of being released.

Why is Hiring an Attorney Early in the Process of a Sex Crimes Case Important?

Published on: May 8, 2020 | by Patrick Barone

Hiring an attorney early in the process is important for several reasons.

1. First, if you haven’t been formally charged with a sex crime or, as Michigan calls it, criminal sexual conduct, a good attorney can intervene and try to prevent charges from ever being filed. We call this part of the situation in the pre-charge phase. In this phase, someone has been informed by somebody, possibly the alleged victim, that the alleged victim or the family intends on filing a police report. In some cases, we’ve helped people in the pre-charge phase avoid the stress and embarrassment of long and public proceedings in court because we could show detectives and prosecutors that there is not enough evidence to even charge our client with criminal sexual conduct.
2. Hiring an attorney early in a Criminal Sexual Conduct case is important because in most sex crimes cases, police will try to interview the accused person. In this interview, the investigator will ask questions that can be designed to elicit incriminating responses. Even though the person may be innocent of a sex crime, that person may give an answer that can incriminate him or her. One should NEVER speak to the police about a criminal situation, ESPECIALLY a criminal sexual conduct crime, without an attorney because an attorney can spot these issues in the interview and advise innocent clients not to respond.

NFL Linebacker Charged with Sexual Assault Involving a Minor

Published on: May 4, 2020 | by Patrick Barone

A former NFL linebacker, Telvin Smith, was recently arrested under suspicion of sexual assault of a minor. Mr. Smith is being prosecuted in Florida where the sex crime is alleged to have occurred. The charge is considered a felony of the second degree, which is punishable by up to 15-years in prison and a $10,000 fine. Under Florida law, this charge means that a person over the age of 24 has engaged in sexual activity with a person who is either 16 or 17 years of age. Further, ‘sexual activity’ is defined to include oral, anal, or vaginal penetration by the sexual organ or by any other object. Smith was arrested, processed, and released after posting a $50,000 bond.

If Mr. Smith had been charged in Michigan, he’d be charged under a law that refers to sexual assault crimes more broadly as Criminal Sexual Conduct (CSC). In Michigan, CSC 1^st and 3^rd degree are the two statutes that involve or require penetration as an element of the offense. A CSC 1^st is the most serious. Every crime is made up of elements, and in a Michigan sex assault crime, the age of the victim is an element of the crime. Pursuant to Michigan law it is illegal to engage in sexual penetration with another person who is at least 13 but less than 16. The age 16 is significant because it is the Michigan age of consent.

In Michigan, a minor may not legally consent to sexual intercourse, penetration, or contact until the age of 16. Even if considered consensual between the two people it is not legal consent and therefore subject criminal charges that could or would most likely include CSC 3^rd. That decision could cause severe short term and long term consequences that include up to 15 years in prison, and 25 years of registering on the Sexual Offenders Registry.