Criminal sexual conduct in the third degree in Michigan is a felony under MCL 750.520d, punishable by up to 15 years in state prison, that applies when a person commits an act of sexual penetration under any one of roughly a dozen qualifying circumstances listed in the statute.1Michigan Legislature. Michigan Code 750.520d – Criminal Sexual Conduct in the Third Degree Prison is mandatory on conviction, and the sentence is only part of what follows: lifetime sex offender registration, a firearm ban, and lasting effects on employment, housing, and immigration status all travel with it.
When the Charge Applies
Every CSC 3rd degree case has two elements the prosecution must prove beyond a reasonable doubt. First, that sexual penetration occurred. Second, that at least one of the statutory qualifying circumstances existed at the time. If either element fails, the charge fails.1Michigan Legislature. Michigan Code 750.520d – Criminal Sexual Conduct in the Third Degree
Michigan defines sexual penetration broadly: sexual intercourse, oral sex, anal intercourse, or any other intrusion of a body part or object into another person’s genital or anal openings, however slight. Ejaculation is not required.2Michigan Legislature. Michigan Code 750.520a – Definitions
The qualifying circumstances are what distinguish this charge from the other CSC degrees. They fall into several groups.
Age of the Victim
The most commonly charged scenario involves a victim at least 13 but younger than 16. The prosecution does not have to prove force, coercion, or any aggravating factor. Age alone creates the offense, because Michigan treats anyone under 16 as legally incapable of consenting to penetration.
Force or Coercion With Personal Injury
A charge applies when force or coercion accomplishes the penetration and the victim suffers a personal injury. Force and coercion include:
- Actual physical force or violence against the victim.
- Threats to use force that the victim believes the actor can carry out.
- Threats of future physical punishment, kidnapping, or extortion against the victim or another person.
- A medical examination or treatment performed in a manner recognized as unethical.
- Concealment or surprise that catches the victim off guard.
Mentally Incapable, Incapacitated, or Physically Helpless Victim
Michigan draws three distinctions. A person is mentally incapable when a mental disease or defect makes them unable to understand what is happening. A person is mentally incapacitated when drugs, alcohol, or another substance temporarily renders them unable to appraise or control their own conduct. A person is physically helpless when they are unconscious, asleep, or physically unable to communicate non-consent.2Michigan Legislature. Michigan Code 750.520a – Definitions The prosecution only needs to show that the actor knew or had reason to know of the condition; awareness of obvious signs is enough.
Abuse of Institutional or Professional Authority
Separate subsections target people who exploit a position of trust:
- Anyone connected to a hospital, jail, prison, nursing home, school, or similar facility who penetrates a person under that facility’s jurisdiction.
- Physicians, psychiatrists, psychologists, and counselors, during treatment or examination.
- Clergy, during spiritual counseling or examination.
- Teachers and school administrators, when the student is 16 or 17 and at the actor’s public or private school, during employment or supervision.
- Coaches, under the same circumstances as teachers.
These provisions exist because the power imbalance in these relationships makes genuine consent legally suspect, even where the person is old enough to consent in other settings.
Family Relationship
Penetration between people related by blood or marriage to the third degree, which includes uncles, aunts, nephews, nieces, and first cousins, is a separate ground even when the other person is an adult. The subsection does not apply to legally married spouses. An affirmative defense exists if the other person held a position of authority over the defendant and used that authority to coerce the conduct.
During Another Felony
If sexual penetration occurs during the commission of any other felony, the penetration itself becomes a CSC 3rd degree charge on top of whatever the underlying felony carries.
Aided or Abetted by Others
When the actor is assisted by one or more other people, a CSC 3rd degree charge applies if force or coercion was used, or if the actor knew or had reason to know the victim was mentally incapable, incapacitated, or physically helpless. Accomplices face their own criminal liability.
Penalties
The maximum sentence is 15 years in state prison. What sets this charge apart from most felonies is that Michigan specifically lists CSC 3rd degree as a non-probationable offense under MCL 771.1, placing it alongside murder, treason, and armed robbery.3Michigan Legislature. Michigan Code 771.1 – Probation A judge cannot grant probation. Incarceration is mandatory.
The minimum sentence is set using Michigan’s sentencing guidelines, which weigh the defendant’s prior record and offense-specific variables. The minimum cannot be zero. Fines and court costs may be imposed on top of the prison term.
The felony also triggers a firearm prohibition. Michigan bars any person convicted of a felony from possessing a firearm until at least three years after completing all fines, imprisonment, probation, and parole. For felonies classified as “specified” offenses, the waiting period extends to five years and requires a formal restoration of rights.4Michigan Legislature. Michigan Code 750.224f – Possession of Firearm by Convicted Felon
Lifetime electronic monitoring, which applies to certain CSC 1st and 2nd degree convictions, does not apply to CSC 3rd degree, though a judge may impose electronic monitoring as a condition of parole or post-release supervision.5Michigan Legislature. Michigan Code 750.520n – Lifetime Electronic Monitoring
Sex Offender Registration
A CSC 3rd degree conviction triggers mandatory registration under Michigan’s Sex Offenders Registration Act. The offense is classified as Tier III, the most serious registration category.6Michigan Legislature. Michigan Code 28.722 – Definitions Tier III means lifetime registration.
One narrow exception exists: registration is not required when the victim was between 13 and 15, the defendant was no more than four years older than the victim, and the victim consented.
Tier III registrants must report in person to their local law enforcement agency four times per year, on a schedule tied to their birth month.7Michigan Legislature. Michigan Code 28.725a – Verification of Domicile or Residence They must report within three business days of any change of address, new job, school enrollment, or new vehicle. Failing to comply is itself a felony carrying additional prison time.
The constitutionality of the 2021 version of SORA is being litigated. A federal district court ruled in 2024 that it amounts to unconstitutional punishment, but the Sixth Circuit stayed that ruling in June 2025, and a Michigan Court of Appeals panel has held separately that the 2021 amendments are not criminal punishment. The 2021 SORA remains in effect, and anyone convicted of CSC 3rd degree must comply while the cases work their way through.
How It Differs From the Other CSC Degrees
Michigan’s criminal sexual conduct statute spans four degrees, and the lines between them matter.
CSC 1st degree also requires sexual penetration, but applies when the surrounding circumstances are the most aggravated: the victim is under 13, a weapon is used, the actor causes serious personal injury, or the victim is forced and the actor is aided by accomplices. CSC 1st degree is punishable by up to life in prison.
CSC 2nd and 4th degrees involve sexual contact rather than penetration. Contact means touching intimate parts for sexual purposes, without the intrusion that defines penetration. CSC 2nd degree covers contact under aggravated circumstances and carries up to 15 years. CSC 4th degree covers contact under less severe circumstances and is punishable by up to 2 years.
Because penetration is the dividing line between the upper and lower tiers, the factual question of whether intrusion occurred often decides whether a defendant faces 2 years or 15. The statutory definition of penetration as “any intrusion, however slight” carries real weight here. A jury does not need to find prolonged or completed intercourse. Momentary intrusion is enough.
Defenses
One baseline matters first: a victim is never required to physically resist for a CSC charge to stand, and the absence of resistance does not equal consent. Beyond that, available defenses track the qualifying circumstance the prosecution is pursuing.
For charges based on force or coercion, consent is the most common defense. The defendant argues that the other person voluntarily agreed and that no force, threats, or coercion were involved. Consent is not a defense when the charge is based on the victim’s age, because anyone under 16 is legally unable to consent. It is also not a defense when the victim was mentally incapable, incapacitated, or physically helpless.
For family-relationship charges, the statute provides a specific affirmative defense: if the other person held a position of authority over the defendant and used that authority to coerce the act, the defendant can raise that defense, but must prove it by a preponderance of the evidence.
Other strategies are case-specific. Challenging the identification of the actor, questioning the reliability of forensic evidence, or showing that penetration did not actually occur are all common approaches. The facts dictate which are viable.
Consequences Beyond the Sentence
The formal sentence is only the beginning. A CSC 3rd degree conviction creates consequences that follow a person for decades, and in many cases for life.
Employment and Housing
A felony sex offense will appear on virtually every standard background check. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, consumer reporting agencies may report criminal convictions indefinitely. There is no federal time limit on reporting actual convictions. Michigan employers are not prohibited from asking about felony convictions, and industries that involve vulnerable populations, including healthcare, education, and childcare, run mandatory background checks that will disqualify applicants with sex offense records.
Housing is similar. In late 2025, the Department of Housing and Urban Development rescinded earlier guidance that had discouraged blanket criminal-history screening and formally directed public housing agencies to strictly enforce rules related to criminal activity among tenants. For anyone relying on federally assisted housing, a CSC conviction is a serious barrier to admission.
Immigration
For non-citizens, a CSC 3rd degree conviction can be catastrophic. Federal immigration law classifies “sexual abuse of a minor” as an aggravated felony.8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1101 – Definitions When the victim was under 18, immigration authorities may treat the conviction as an aggravated felony, triggering mandatory removal proceedings and barring nearly all forms of relief from deportation. This applies regardless of how long the person has lived in the United States or whether they hold a green card. Even where the victim was an adult, the conviction may still trigger deportability as a crime involving moral turpitude. Anyone who is not a U.S. citizen and faces a CSC charge should consult an immigration attorney before entering any plea.
Repeat-Offender Enhancement
Michigan imposes harsher penalties for a second or subsequent CSC conviction. Under MCL 750.520f, a person with a prior CSC conviction who commits another qualifying offense faces a mandatory minimum of at least five years in prison. The enhancement applies regardless of which degree the prior conviction involved, so a prior CSC 4th degree can increase the mandatory minimum on a new CSC 3rd degree charge. Judges have no discretion to go below the enhanced minimum. Because CSC 3rd degree is already non-probationable, a second offense effectively guarantees a lengthy prison term with no probation available.