Legal Question in Criminal Law in Michigan

Re: Boy Charged with Rape

Yes, he can be charged.

While you call him a "boy", at age 16 he is legally old enough in Michigan to consent to have sex with another person who is 16 or older. (Don't like that age limit? Complain to your legislator in Lansing.)

But, while HE can legally 'consent' to engage in sexual conduct, the other person in your fact pattern cannot 'consent' because the 13-year old girl is not old enough to legally consent. She may have done this 'voluntarily', but she had no legal capacity/power/authority to give "consent".

Using a condom is not a legal defense.

All of that said ... whether a prosecuting attorney exercises his/her discreation and does charge is a different question from whether the prosecutor CAN charge.

Also, in Michigan, this is not called "rape". It is called Criminal Sexual Conduct (CSC), and there are 4 degrees of CSC depending on several factors, including whether the conduct involved penetration or not. You can read more about CSC on the Legal Definitions page at www.prosecutingattorney.info .

Re: Boy Charged with Rape

This is a very serious rape crime. The boy should have an experienced attorney RIGHT AWAY. For more information, go to:

www.SexCrimeAttorneys.com