Accosting, Enticing, or Soliciting a Child for Immoral Purposes in Michigan

Defending the Criminally-Accused in Michigan’s Most Serious Sex Crime Cases

Understanding the Charge: What MCL 750.145a Actually Covers

The definition of Accosting, Enticing, or Soliciting a Child for Immoral Purposes (also called Accosting a Minor for Immoral Purposes or Accosting a Child for Immoral Purposes) is relatively straightforward. There is no standard jury instruction for this crime: no document used to walk a jury through the legal concepts. This gives prosecutors wide latitude in how they frame the charge.

The law, MCL 750.145a, reads:

“A person who accosts, entices, or solicits a child less than 16 years of age, regardless of whether the person knows the individual is a child or knows the actual age of the child, or an individual whom he or she believes is a child less than 16 years of age with the intent to induce or force that child or individual to commit an immoral act, to submit to an act of sexual intercourse or an act of gross indecency, or to any other act of depravity or delinquency, or who encourages a child less than 16 years of age, regardless of whether the person knows the individual is a child or knows the actual age of the child or an individual whom he or she believes is a child less than 16 years of age to engage in any of those acts is guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment for not more than 4 years or a fine of not more than $4,000.00, or both.”

What the statute makes clear is that this charge isn’t limited to soliciting a minor for sex, and it isn’t limited to conduct that happens online. It covers in-person conduct as well, including enticing a child to commit an act of Gross Indecency. Critically, no actual child needs to be involved. The other person could be an adult pretending to be a minor. The statute only requires that the accused “believes” the individual is under 16. This is precisely what enables organizations like “Perverted Justice” (as seen on To Catch a Predator) to set up stings in online chat rooms and pursue serious felony convictions against people who, in many cases, are dealing with mental health issues rather than predatory intent. On the other side, you may genuinely believe the person you’re communicating with is over 16. They may have told you they’re 18. You can still face this charge if that turns out to be false (though criminal charges are less likely when that fact is established). The law also sweeps in any “immoral act” or “any other act of depravity or delinquency,” and prosecutors use that language broadly. Perhaps most importantly, Accosting, Enticing, or Soliciting a Child for Immoral Purposes often results from nothing more than one person’s accusation: no eyewitnesses, no physical evidence, nothing but a claim.

RELATED: Is consent a defense to a charge of Accosting, Enticing or Soliciting a Minor in Michigan?

When a Computer or the Internet Is Involved

Cases become significantly more complicated when a computer or the internet enters the picture. If you’re suspected of using a computer to accost a minor, police will likely obtain a search warrant: a court order authorizing seizure of not just your computer but your cell phone, hard drives, and every other electronic device you own. Officers can enter your home unannounced and take these items whether or not you’re present, and because it’s a court order, you won’t have an opportunity to object before it happens.

Once seized, those devices go to a detective who handles forensic computer examinations. They’re connected to specialized equipment at the police department and run through forensic software like Oxygen Suite or similar programs capable of recovering web browsing history, SMS and instant messaging history, social media activity, and deleted content. Recovered deleted content can be used to argue malicious intent.

When a computer or the internet is involved, you also face a separate charge: Using a Computer to Commit a Crime under MCL 750.145d. When the underlying offense is Accosting a Child, this companion charge is a felony carrying “imprisonment for not more than 10 years or a fine of not more than $5,000.00, or both.” Unlike most crimes, even an attempt or conspiracy that falls short of completing the offense is treated identically to the completed crime. An attempt doesn’t cut the maximum in half here. It still carries up to 10 years. This charge also covers cell phones, gaming devices, PDAs, and similar devices, not just traditional computers.

A conviction under MCL 750.145d carries its own sex offender registration consequence: it’s a Tier 2 offense requiring 25 years of public registration on the Michigan Sex Offender Registry. In many respects, the computer charge is more serious than the underlying accosting charge itself.

Prosecutors commonly stack counts: charging both Accosting and Using a Computer to Commit a Crime based on the same alleged act to strengthen their bargaining position. They may later offer to dismiss the accosting count in exchange for a guilty plea to the computer charge, framing it as a favorable deal. It isn’t. When accosting remains the underlying offense, a conviction on the computer charge still means potential jail or prison time and 25 years of sex offender registration.

Sex Offender Registration Consequences for an Accosting Conviction

Whether a particular plea deal or conviction triggers sex offender registration is always best evaluated on a case-by-case basis. By law, those convicted of Accosting, Enticing, or Soliciting a Child for Immoral Purposes must register publicly as sex offenders for 25 years, beginning after any period of jail or prison ends (registration itself begins before sentencing). Accosting a Child is a Tier 2 offense, which also requires twice-annual verification of certain information with law enforcement.

The Michigan Sex Offender Registry is publicly accessible to anyone with an internet connection. A registrant’s home address and work address are published online, and no employer wants their address associated with the sex offender registry. That visibility makes finding or maintaining employment extremely difficult once sex offender status becomes known. Registered sex offenders are also barred from residing or working within 1,000 feet of a student safety zone, which further limits where they can live and work.

Reporting & Notification Obligations Under the Sex Offenders Registration Act

Beyond twice-annual verification, registration carries immediate notification obligations. You must notify the appropriate law enforcement agency immediately if you do any of the following:

• Enroll at a college or university, or end enrollment;
• Change place of employment, quit, or are fired;
• Change residence or domicile;
• Change your name;
• Establish any email or instant message account, or any other account used for internet communications;
• Intend to temporarily reside anywhere other than your registered address for more than seven days; or
• Purchase or begin regularly driving any vehicle, or sell, transfer, or stop driving one.

Failures to register, verify, or comply with the Sex Offenders Registration Act are separate crimes. You should aggressively defend against Accosting a Child for Immoral Purposes charges.

Holmes Youthful Trainee Act (HYTA) Eligibility for This Charge

It’s possible, but it depends on the facts. The most significant advantage of obtaining HYTA status is that you may avoid sex offender registration. Accosting a Child for Immoral Purposes isn’t automatically ineligible for the Holmes Youthful Trainee Act, but because it’s a “listed offense” that requires sex offender registration, a young person can’t receive HYTA unless there is clear and convincing evidence that they’re unlikely to commit further listed offenses in the future. That’s a high bar. HYTA eligibility is also barred entirely if the case involves any act characteristic of 1st Degree Criminal Sexual Conduct, 2nd Degree CSC, 3rd Degree CSC, or 4th Degree CSC. And even if HYTA is granted, a sentence of jail or prison is still possible.

The Holmes Youthful Trainee Act, MCL 762.11 allows a person between the ages of 18 and 25 to plead guilty and have the case dismissed upon successful completion of their sentence.

MCL 750.145a & Child Molestation Charges in Michigan

MCL 750.145a charges are commonly called child molestation charges in Michigan because they fall within the same category of sex crimes as criminal sexual conduct and carry the same sex offender registration consequences. Michigan prosecutors treat this statute as a child sex crime regardless of whether physical contact occurred. The statute’s purpose is to protect children from sexual exploitation at any stage of the offense, and prosecutors pursue it accordingly.

Defending a child molestation charge in Michigan requires an attorney with direct experience in sex crime statutes, forensic evidence analysis, and Michigan sentencing guidelines. At Prain Law, PLLC, we dedicate 100% of our efforts to defending the criminally-accused, with a singular focus on serious felony sex crime cases throughout Michigan, including the Detroit metro area. Attorney Brian J. Prain has been selected by Super Lawyers every year since 2013: a record of consistent recognition in exactly these high-stakes cases. If you’re searching for a child molestation attorney in Michigan, the charge you’re likely facing is an MCL 750.145a accusation, and this is what we defend.

Penalties, Sentencing Guidelines, & Why the Defense You Choose Matters

The actual sentence for a first-offense MCL 750.145a conviction is determined by Michigan sentencing guidelines, which weigh prior record variables and offense variables against one another. The statutory maximum of 4 years imprisonment or a fine of not more than $4,000.00, or both, is a ceiling, not a guarantee. Probation is a possible outcome even for individuals who are found guilty, when an experienced Michigan child molestation attorney argues effectively at sentencing. A prior conviction under MCL 750.145a, or a substantially corresponding law of another state, triggers the repeat-offense enhancement under MCL 750.145b, raising the maximum to 10 years and the fine to $10,000. With a Michigan sex crimes attorney fighting hard on your behalf, probation for Accosting a Child for Immoral Purposes can be a possible outcome.

This is your life and your future. Rather than focusing on how much time you could spend behind bars, focus on how aggressively you’re going to fight these charges and who you trust to fight them with you. Don’t leave that to chance.

If you are facing charges of accosting a child for immoral purposes, don’t wait. Contact us now for a strong defense tailored to your situation!