The word molestation raises instant emotions in people, none of them good. People experience anger, disgust and even fear when the subject is raised. But ask anyone exactly what molestation is, and many of them cannot articulate it for you. In part, this could be because it’s a distasteful subject and so they haven’t taken the time to properly understand it. But sometimes the lack of knowledge is due to confusing legal terms.
The term ‘molestation’ is commonly taken to mean sexual abuse of a child. According to the FreeDictionary.com, the word molestation refers to “a crime involving a range of indecent or sexual activities between an adult and a child, usually under the age of 14.” The Merriam Webster Dictionary defines molestation as “making annoying sexual advances to; specifically: to force physical and usually sexual contact on (as a child).”
Oddly enough, these two definitions do not sound like they are describing the same action. That can be somewhat confusing for someone who isn’t sure exactly what the term means to begin with. And then there are the added complications of the legal definitions, where molestation is often referred to as Child Sexual Abuse.
In Michigan, the term ‘molestation’ is not used to describe an adult or teenager’s sexual advances toward an underaged child. Instead, we use the terms ‘criminal sexual conduct’ to describe most forms of illegal sexual activity. This includes everything from rape to illicit touching of a victim who is completely dressed. They are all referred to as criminal sexual conduct in Michigan law.
Criminal Sexual Conduct is divided into categories in Michigan
The way Michigan’s legal system differentiates between those two extremes, and all of the other potential sexual crimes in between, is to divide criminal sexual conduct into four categories, called degrees. First and Third Degree Criminal Sexual Conduct refer to sexual penetration of the victim, and therefore do not pertain to molestation as most people understand it.
This means that someone who is accused of molesting a child in Michigan would be charged with either Second or Fourth Degree Criminal Sexual Conduct, depending on the circumstances involved. In other words, both crimes involve sexual contact, but do not include sexual penetration of any kind.
For example, if a person touched a child’s genitals or other private parts for their own sexual gratification, but the child was fully dressed at the time, that person would likely be charged with Fourth Degree Criminal Sexual Conduct. However, not all sexual contact with another person rises to the level of what could be considered ‘criminal.’ For that to be the case, there has to be sexual contact along with another factor.
In the case of Second Degree CSC, that “other factor” could be the presence of force or coercion during the sexual contact, the defendant knowing that the victim is physically or mentally incapacitated, or the accused is a mental health professional who treated the accuser within the last two years. These are only a few examples. Under the law, there are many more potential situations. Really these are semantic differences in the specific conduct that is alleged to have occurred. However, the penalties between the different degrees of CSC molestation are huge. In fact the amount of prison time can vary from two years up to life in prison.
John English, an experienced sex crime defense attorney at the Kronzek Firm says that “It is important to remember that a Fourth Degree CSC Charge could involve either consensual or nonconsensual sexual contact. Michigan law doesn’t allow a person under 13 to provide lawful consent for any sexual contact, so even if an underaged minor provided consent, the sexual contact is still against the law.”
Join us next time, when we will be talking about the challenges involved in defending against an allegation of child molestation. It may be a difficult subject to discuss, we know, but being aware and informed is the first step towards ensuring that you are never falsely accused. So hard as this is to talk about, we promise, it will help clear up some misconceptions, which is never a bad thing.