Legal Question in Criminal Law in Michigan

Is there a time limit for charging someone with csc?

I was sexually assaulted 15 years ago, when I was sixteen yrs. old, by a family member(by marriage at the time, but now is not). I had a child from these experiences, who is denied by his father. This has caused my son and I great grief. Is there a time limit to charge someone with csc. Is there any way to charge him at all?

Thank you for any help you can give in this matter.


Asked on 10/01/03, 11:54 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Neil O'Brien Eaton County Special Assistant Prosecuting Attorney

Re: Is there a time limit for charging someone with csc?

The statute of limitations for issuing a criminal charge has long since passed. Even if the limit had not passed, your delay in reporting the alleged crime would be a major factor in a prosecutor deciding whether to issue the charge.

At 16 years old, you were old enough to consent to sex, so the case would boil down to whether the act was non-consensual, so your credibility would be a key consideration. If you came forward with an ulterior motive (eg, the grief that you and your son have had because the man has denied parentage), that raises a huge issue of bias that works against a prosecutor's case.

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Answered on 10/01/03, 12:01 pm


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