Tougher Sentences for Sexual Assault

House Bills 6259-6263 would increase penalties across Michigan’s four degrees of criminal sexual conduct, establishing mandatory minimum prison terms for first-, second- and third-degree offenses and making fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct a felony.

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Under the package, first-degree criminal sexual conduct would carry a 15-year mandatory minimum sentence, while second-degree offenses would carry a 10-year minimum and third-degree offenses a five-year minimum. Fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct would be reclassified from a misdemeanor to a felony.

Republican Rep. Donni Steele, R-Orion Township, sponsored HB 6262, which deals with third-degree criminal sexual conduct. That bill passed the House 77-26.

“These are not minor offenses,” Steele said. “The victims of sexual violence can carry the physical, emotional, and psychological consequences of these crimes for the rest of their lives.”

Fourth-Degree CSC Would Become a Felony

Another bill, HB 6263, sponsored by Republican Rep. Tom Kuhn of Troy, would make fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct a felony rather than a misdemeanor. That bill passed the House 79-24.

Kuhn said, “I read what fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct actually covers. It includes sexual contact by force and grown adults going after 13-year-olds, and Michigan still calls it a misdemeanor. A survivor hears exactly what that word means, and so does the person who hurt them.”

According to Michigan Department of Corrections figures cited by Kuhn, Michigan courts handled 367 fourth-degree CSC cases in 2025, with 47.1% resulting in probation without jail or prison time.

Now Headed to the Senate

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The five-bill package now moves to the Michigan Senate for consideration.